Tonkatsu Sauce vs Worcester Sauce vs Chuno Sauce

“Tonkatsu (豚カツ)” is the Japanese pork cutlet featuring its crispy deep-fried breadcrumb covering, which usually comes with shredded cabbage on a plate and is eaten with “Tonkatsu sauce (とんかつソース)”.

By the way, have you ever heard of Tonkatsu sauce? As its name indicates, Tonkatsu sauce is the Japanese brown sauce particularly meant for the Tonkatsu pork cutlet.

Bulldog Worcester Sauce vs Tonkatsu Sauce vs Chuno Sauce

Actually, Tonkatsu sauce and the Worcestershire sauce commonly used in Japan are similar things and can be used interchangeably.

Additionally, “Chuno sauce (中濃ソース)”, a type of Japanese brown sauce, is also something like Tonkatsu sauce and (Japanese-style) Worcester sauce, and in fact, these brown sauces are made with almost the same ingredients.

In a word, they are all close in taste and can be substituted for one another according to your preference. But how do Tonkatsu sauce, Japanese Worcester sauce, and Chuno sauce differ?

Regarding Tonkatsu sauce, Worcester sauce, and Chuno sauce, the Japanese company “Bulldog Sauce (ブルドックソース)” has a large market share, so here I will compare their brown sauces.

Worcester Sauce (ウスターソース)

First, in terms of the ingredients, the Worcester sauce from Bulldog Sauce is made from apple, tomato, onion, lemon, prune, carrot, brewed vinegar, sugar, salt, yeast extract, spices, and Niboshi (dried young sardine) extract.

Generally, made with a less amount of vegetables and fruits than Tonkatsu sauce, Japanese Worcester sauce doesn’t contain a lot of fibers and is thin and smooth in consistency like a liquid. Taste-wise, this brown sauce is not sweet but has a moderate spiciness.

Tonkatsu Sauce (とんかつソース)

Next, the ingredients in the Bulldog Tonkatsu Sauce are tomato, apple, prune, lemon, carrot, onion, brewed vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, salt, starch, yeast extract, and spices.

Made with plenty of fruits, Tonkatsu Sauce, also called “Noukou Sauce (濃厚ソース: literally meaning Thick Sauce)”, contains lots of fibers and is thick in consistency compared to Worcestershire sauce. In taste, this brown sauce is rather mellow and umami-rich, and less spicy than Worcester sauce.

Chuno Sauce (中濃ソース)

Lastly, Chuno sauce is something like a cross between Worcester sauce and Tonkatsu sauce, both in taste and consistency, as the word in its name “Chuno (中濃)” literally means “Medium Thick” in Japanese.

According to the ingredient list of the Bulldog Chuno Sauce pictured above, this brown sauce consists of tomato, prune, apple, lemon, carrot, onion, brewed vinegar, high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, salt, starch, yeast extract, and spices.

(Reference Page: KAGOME ソースのQ&A )