In Japan, there are a lot of restaurants that cater to single diners – not to say everyone was single but because of various work schedules, it’s hard for families to actually have a meal together. When I was working in Japan as a recent college graduate, it was much easier to grab a bite at these diners than to buy meat and produce and cook for 1 person. The usual staples stems from a ‘donburi’ or rice with various toppings such as curry rice, tempura, egg and chicken, tonkatsu and egg, roasted eel, and my favorite, pork with ginger sauce also known as pork shogayaki.

Pork shogayaki is the perfect ‘salary-man’ meal because can be made from a cheap cut of pork, some onions, and lots of sauce over a bowl of fluffy rice. It’s got your proteins, vegetables (if you can call onion a vegetable), and carbs. An economical way to feed hungry young men, especially when these restaurants offer free refills on rice.

Not that I’m reminiscing those days in Tokyo (but I am),I will show you how to easily make this dish when you don’t have a lot of time to prep and need to put something on the table in less than 15 minutes. Perfect if you are making dinner for one or up to 4 people.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz thinly sliced pork**
• 1” ginger grated
• ½ medium yellow onion sliced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• 1 tsp sugar

Depending on your fat preference, you can either use pork belly which has the highest fat content to pork shoulder (or butt) which is medium marbling to pork loin which is the leanest. I usually prefer pork belly or pork shoulder. The loin is a bit too lean for my taste. Also, if you don’t know how to thinly slice meat, you can check out our review on using a food slicer. Another option is to buy sukiyaki or shabu shabu meat.

Directions:

First, peel the ginger skin and grate the ginger. Next, slice the onions to be about ¼” thick and set aside.

Heat a pan on medium heat, add a bit of cooking oil and brown the meat on both sides. Toss in the onions and ginger and mix. Add in the soy sauce, mirin, rice wine, and sugar. Continue to stir fry until sauce is incorporated. Cover the pan and cook on medium for another 3-5 minutes depending on how ‘cooked’ you want your onions. Some people prefer onions that still has a bit of crunch whereas others prefer almost melt in your mouth texture. At this point, remove the cover and turn the heat to high to reduce the cooking liquid to 50% to thicken the sauce.Pour the pork shogayaki over a bowl of rice and ready to serve! For a bit of a kick, you can add in Japanese shichimi spice which complements this dish very well.

4.7 from 3 reviews

Ginger Pork - Pork Shogayaki (豚の生姜焼き)

 

Author:

Mike Hsu

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Japanese

Serves: 1-2 servings

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Print

 

The pork shogayaki (ginger pork) recipe is perfect for serving 1 to 2 people with simple ingredients and preparation

Ingredients

• 8 oz thinly sliced pork**
• 1” ginger grated
• ½ medium yellow onion sliced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

1. grate ginger with a grater and slice onion
2. pan fry thinly sliced pork
3. add onions and ginger
4. add soy sauce, mirin, rice wine, and sugar and stir to incorporate
5. cover with lid and cook for 3-5 minutes
6. remove cover and reduce liquid by 50%
7. pour contents over rice and serve

Notes

**For the pork, you can either use pork belly, pork shoulder, or pork loin.

3.4.3177