Bull-Dog, Tonkatsu Sauce, 1.8L
The thick, fruity katsu sauce Japan puts on its tonkatsu, from the Tokyo company that started making sauce in 1905. In a 1.8 litre bottle for the pass.
Bull-Dog Tonkatsu Sauce is the classic thick Japanese brown sauce for fried food. It is made from vegetables and fruit, including tomato, apple, onion and carrot, with vinegar, sugar and spices, and cooked down until it clings to a crisp breadcrumb crust instead of soaking it. Sweet, tangy and gently spiced, it is the flavour most people mean when they say katsu sauce. This 1.8 litre bottle suits restaurants and takeaways that plate katsu every day.
Why Chefs Choose This
- Clings, not soaks: the thick texture sits on top of panko so the crust stays crisp to the last bite.
- The real reference point: Bull-Dog is the name Japanese diners grew up with, so the flavour reads as right.
- Balanced for fried food: fruit sweetness and vinegar tang cut through the richness of pork, chicken and prawns.
- Ready to serve: no reduction or blending; pour it into ramekins or squeeze bottles and go.
How to Use
- Tonkatsu and chicken katsu: spoon over sliced cutlets or serve alongside with shredded cabbage.
- Korokke and ebi fry: the standard sauce for croquettes, fried prawns and fried oysters.
- Katsu sando: spread onto soft white bread with a pork cutlet and a little mustard.
- Beyond Japanese food: brush onto burgers or sausages, or stir into a gravy for a sweet-sour lift.
Tonkatsu (豚カツ), breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet, grew out of Japan's yōshoku (洋食), the Western-style cooking that spread from the late 19th century, and Worcestershire-type sauces came with it. Bull-Dog Sauce (ブルドックソース) began in 1902 when Nakasaburō Kojima opened Misawaya Shōten, a food wholesaler in Tokyo; it started making sauce in 1905 and took the Bull-Dog name in 1926. The name was chosen because bulldogs were a fashionable foreign pet at the time, and the founder wanted the sauce to be loved like one. Tonkatsu sauce is the thick style (nōkō, 濃厚) of that family, made to sit on fried food.
Learn more: Japanese Sauces
What does tonkatsu sauce taste like?
Think of a thicker, sweeter, fruitier cousin of Worcestershire sauce. The first taste is tomato and apple sweetness, then a vinegar tang, then a warm, savoury spice at the back with a little pepper. It is smooth and glossy, closer to a ketchup in body than a thin brown sauce. On a hot cutlet the sweetness and acidity cut through the fat and crumb, which is exactly why it has been the default partner for katsu in Japan for decades.
Product Details
| Type | Tonkatsu sauce (とんかつソース), thick Japanese fruit and vegetable sauce |
| Brand | Bull-Dog (ブルドック), Bull-Dog Sauce Co., Ltd. |
| Maker's History | Founded 1902 in Tokyo; making sauce since 1905 |
| Base | Vegetables and fruit, vinegar, sugar and spices |
| Origin | Japan |
| Volume and Format | 1.8 litre bottle |
| Storage | Cool, dark place before opening; refrigerate after opening |
| Best Used As | Katsu, korokke, fried seafood and katsu sando |
What is the difference between tonkatsu sauce and Worcestershire sauce?
They come from the same family. Japanese Worcestershire-style sauce is thin and sharp; tonkatsu sauce is the thick (nōkō) style, sweeter and fruitier, made to coat fried food. Chūnō sauce sits in between. If a recipe says katsu sauce, it means this thick style.
Is this the same as chicken katsu curry sauce?
No. In the UK katsu often means a curry sauce, but in Japan katsu curry is a cutlet served with Japanese curry. Tonkatsu sauce is a separate, thick brown sauce served with the cutlet on its own, usually with shredded cabbage, rice and miso soup.
How should I store it after opening?
Keep it in the fridge once opened, cap closed, and it will hold its flavour well. Before opening, a cool cupboard away from sunlight is fine. For service, decant into squeeze bottles and keep the main bottle chilled. Check the best-before date on the bottle.
Ingredients and allergens
Ingredients: Water, high fructose corn syrup, distilled vinegar, salt, sugar, tomato paste, cornstarch, apple puree, colour: E150a, flavour enhancer: E621, spices, carrot concentrate, onion concentrate.
Allergen information is taken from the manufacturer's label; always check the pack before use.
SKU : X0017