What is Gotcha Pork Roast?
Gotcha roast pork (なんちゃってローストポーク) is a made-up dish featured in the anime/manga “Food Wars!” (Shokugeki no Soma). It appeared in 1st episode of the TV series. It’s an improvised dish that mimics roast pork’s delicious taste using limited ingredients.
Creamy mashed potatoes are mixed with things like onions and mushrooms, which add depth and umami, then shaped into a cylinder and wrapped in bacon. Finally, the gotcha pork roast is oven-baked so that the fat from the bacon penetrates the potato and adds a meaty flavor.
How I Developed This Recipe
Recreating anime recipes can be challenging yet exciting, as these dishes are often not found in the real world. In my experience with this particular recipe, I initially tried to stay true to its depiction in the anime. However, I quickly realized that some adjustments were needed to transform it into a dish suitable for real-world enjoyment.
Therefore, while keeping the core structure and philosophy of the original anime recipe, I made my own modifications to the condiments and spices. This approach allowed me to enhance the dish’s flavors and overall appeal.
I’m quite pleased with how it turned out, and I believe it strikes a great balance between being faithful to the anime and being a delicious, practical dish!
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Food Wars!’s Gotcha Pork Roast at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
Peel and chop potatoes. Place them in a pot, covering them with cold water. Season with salt, pepper, a garlic clove, and rosemary. Boil for 15-20 minutes until soft.
There are a few simple tricks you can use to boil the perfect potato for mashing.
- Use starchy potatoes like Russet potatoes (they break down more easily).
- Cut the potato into smaller pieces (preferably quarters) to ensure even cooking.
- Start with cold water so that the outside doesn’t cook faster than the middle.
- Boil until a knife can easily slide into the centre (usually takes 10-15 minutes).
- After draining the potatoes, let them rest for a few minutes to release the excess steam and moisture.
If you follow these tips you will definitely have perfect potatoes!
In a frying pan, melt half the butter with Worcestershire sauce.
Fry onions until slightly softened, then add garlic and king oyster mushrooms. Remove from heat once the onions are soft and translucent.
Drain the potatoes, remove the rosemary and garlic, and mash until smooth.
Warm milk and remaining butter in the microwave. Stir in chicken bouillon powder, then add to the mashed potatoes, mixing until smooth.
Add the onion and mushroom mixture to the potatoes along with Parmesan cheese and parsley.
Mix well and cool to room temperature.
Place the mixture on plastic wrap, form into a cylinder, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200°C (392°F).
Remove the potato mixture, wrap it in bacon slices, securing with butcher’s twine. Add a sprig of rosemary on top.
Place the wrapped potato mixture in a roasting pan, and bake for 20 minutes until the bacon is golden.
It’s not specified in the book, but I believe that using streaky bacon with plenty of fat is crucial. When baked, the fat will melt and be absorbed into the potato, giving it a meaty flavor. It will also become crispier, resulting in a better texture on the outside.
I recommend using the longest rashers you can find. This will make it easier to wrap the potato and create a more beautiful “Gotcha Pork-like” presentation.
Whether you prefer smoked or unsmoked bacon is entirely up to you!
Melt butter in a saucepan, add red wine, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Boil for a few minutes, then remove from heat. Reheat before serving if needed.
After baking, let the dish rest, remove the twine, and transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle with the red wine sauce and serve.
Jump to Full Recipe Measurements
FAQ
Food Wars! (Shokugeki no Soma) is a well-known Japanese manga and anime series that follows the story of Soma Yukihara, a young and ambitious chef. Soma attends a prestigious culinary school and takes part in various food competitions known as “shokugeki”, which are the highlights of the show.
The dishes presented in the competitions are often new twists on classic recipes or entirely original creations. Each episode features a different dish, all of which are illustrated in a way that will make your mouth water!
I hope you enjoy this Goctcha Pork recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Copycat Recipes
Gotcha Pork Roast (Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
Gotcha Pork Roast
- 300 g potato peeled and cut in quarters
- water for boiling
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 sprig fresh rosemary
- 50 ml whole milk
- 2 tbsp butter half mixed into the potatoes, half for frying the onions and mushrooms
- 1 tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder
- ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 100 g onion finely diced
- 50 g king oyster mushroom (eryngii) finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely diced
- 1 tsp grated parmesan cheese powdered or finely grated
- 1 pinch dried parsley
- 8 slices bacon preferably streaky, long pieces work best
Red Wine Sauce
- 150 ml red wine
- 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
My recommended brands of ingredients and seasonings can be found in my Japanese pantry guide.
Instructions
Gotcha Pork Roast
- Peel and cut 300 g potato. Place them inside a large pot and fill with cold water until the potatoes are fully submerged. Add 1 tsp salt, 1 pinch ground black pepper, 1 clove garlic and one sprig of rosemary to the pot and boil for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft enough to mash.
- While you are waiting for the potatoes, heat a frying pan on medium and add half of the butter and and ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Once the butter is melted, add 100 g onion and fry until slightly softened.
- Add 3 cloves garlic and 50 g king oyster mushroom (eryngii) and fry everything together. Once the onions are soft translucent, remove the pan from the heat.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and discard the rosemary and garlic clove. Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl and mash until there are no lumps.
- Add 50 ml whole milk and 2 tbsp butter to a heatproof bowl and heat in the microwave until the butter has melted. Add 1 tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder and mix until dissolved.
- Pour the mixture into the potatoes and mix until smooth and evenly distributed.
- Transfer the contents of the frying pan to the bowl of mashed potato along with 1 tsp grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of 1 pinch dried parsley. Mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed, cover the bowl so the mixture doesn't dry out and then leave to cool to room temperature.
- Take a sheet of plastic wrap and place the mixture in the middle. Shape into a thick cylinder and firmly wrap, then chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Assembling and Baking
- Preheat your oven to 200 °C (392 °F).
- Remove the mashed potato from the plastic and wrap with 8 slices bacon. I recommend wrapping the ends first and then work your way to the middle, ensuring there are no gaps.
- Secure the bacon with butchers twine and place 1 sprig of fresh rosemary on the top.
- Transfer the gotcha pork roast to a roasting pan and place a sprig of fresh rosemary in the middle. Slide the pan into the oven on the top shelf and bake for 20 minutes or until the bacon is golden.
Red Wine Sauce
- Heat a small saucepan on medium and add 1 tbsp butter.
- Once the butter is melted, add 150 ml red wine, 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 1 tbsp mirin and 1 tsp sugar. Boil for a few minutes and then remove from the heat. Reheat right before serving if preferred.
Serving
- Take the gotcha pork roast out from the oven and rest for a few minutes before cutting off the butchers twine and transferring it to a serving plate. Drizzle with the red wine sauce.
- Enjoy!
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