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Home ยป Recipes

Buta no Shogayaki (Japanese Ginger Pork)

Published: Feb 22, 2020 ยท Modified: Sep 12, 2023 by Yuto Omura

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Japanese "shogayaki" is a fragrant dish made up of thin slices of pork cooked in a sweet and aromatic ginger sauce. It's seriously delicious and ready in just 30 minutes!

Shogayaki Ginger Pork with shishito peppers and a side salad

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Jump to:
  • What is Shลgayaki?
  • Ingredients and Substitution Ideas
  • Step-by-Step Process
  • Storage Instructions
  • Pairing and Side Dish Suggestions
  • Buta no Shogayaki (Japanese Ginger Pork)

What is Shลgayaki?

Shogayaki (็”Ÿๅงœ็„ผใ) is a delicious Japanese dish made with thinly sliced pork pan-fried in a fragrant ginger sauce. In Japanese, "shลga" means ginger, and "yaki" means to fry. Since it's easy to make and tastes so good, it's a popular home-cooked dish amongst Japanese families.

Although pork is not mentioned in the name, this dish is made almost exclusively with pork. The full name would be "Buta no Shogayaki" (่ฑšใฎ็”Ÿๅงœ็„ผใ), which means "pork fried with ginger."

Shลgayaki appeared in Japan around the early 20th century. Ginger was initially used to soften the smell of pork, which can have quite a strong odor when cooking.

This dish started as a home dish, but in the 1920s, its popularity grew, and restaurants began serving it too. Shลgayaki was supposedly invented in Tokyo and spread across the Kantล (east) area, but now it's one of the most popular Japanese pork dishes nationwide!

Shogayaki Ginger Pork with shishito peppers and a side salad

How I Developed This Recipe

I've created my own unique version of shogayaki that may differ from the traditional recipe. Along with ginger, I add grated apple and honey for natural sweetness and garlic for a complex flavor.

I've developed hundreds of recipes on this website, but it's safe to say that this buta no shogayaki is one of my top three. Definitely worth a try!

Shogayaki Ginger Pork with shishito peppers and a side salad

Ingredients and Substitution Ideas

  • Fresh ginger: Use with the skin on. Its aroma helps neutralize the scent of pork and oil.
  • Apple: Grate to infuse natural sweetness. This ingredient is pivotal in this recipe. Given that only a small quantity of apple is needed for the sauce, you can opt for apple juice or smooth apple sauce if you'd rather not purchase a whole apple.
  • Yellow onion: Grate for use. While yellow onions are prevalent in Japan, white onions are a suitable alternative.
  • Grated garlic: Alternatively, opt for garlic paste for convenience.
  • Soy sauce: Kikkoman soy sauce is a solid pick for a budget-friendly choice. For insights on selecting the proper soy sauce in Japanese cuisine, refer to our guide to soy sauce.
  • Sake: If unavailable, white wine or dry sherry are good substitutes.
  • Mirin: When shopping for mirin, aim for "hon mirin" (ๆœฌใฟใ‚Šใ‚“) for optimal flavor. Hinode Hon Mirin is a top-quality yet affordable choice. For more condiment and seasoning suggestions, check out my post on the 20 Most Useful Condiments and Seasonings for Japanese Cooking.
  • Dashi stock: Given its minimal use, use leftover homemade dashi stock or instant granules. For homemade versions, delve into recipes like my favorite dashi, simple awase dashi, or vegan dashi. If dashi isn't accessible, simply replace it with water to maintain the desired sauce consistency.
  • Honey: Choose a mild, golden runny honey over rich or set honeys. I used Acacia honey.
  • Pork: In Japan, while there's debate over the best pork cut for shogayaki, the loin with balanced fat is favored and often labeled "for shogayaki" in supermarkets; however, the flavorful shoulder and rich belly are also suitable alternatives.
  • All-purpose flour: Used for dusting the meat which improves the texture, thickens the sauce and helps it stick better to the surface of the pork.
  • Shishito peppers: These are optional. I favor shishito peppers for their mild bitterness and hint of spice, plus they cook rapidly. If you're looking for alternatives, consider mini sweet peppers or bell peppers.
Japanese Pantry Ideas

I have listed my recommended Japanese condiments, tools, and ingredients in the Sudachi Recipes Amazon shop. If you want to keep making various Japanese foods at home, please check it out!

Shogayaki Ginger Pork with shishito peppers and a side salad

Step-by-Step Process

STEP
Grate the fresh ingredients

Start by grating your ginger, garlic cloves, apple and onion. Not only does this add fantastic depth of flavor to the sauce, but it also gives it a bit more texture.

grating ginger for shogayaki sauce
Tip: Grate ginger with skin on

Ginger has a lot of flavor in its skin. For this reason, I recommend grating your fresh ginger with the skin on for a more pronounced ginger flavor. Just make sure to wash it beforehand!

STEP
Make the sauce

Mix the soy sauce, mirin, sake, dashi (or water) and honey in a small bowl and then add your grated ingredients. Give it another mix and set it aside for later. It's as simple as that!

mixing grated ingredients with condiments for shogayaki sauce
STEP
Prepare the pork

Make a few cuts across the fatty parts and muscles to prevent the meat from curling during the cooking process.

making incisions in pork to prevent curling
Tip: Bring the pork to room temperature

For best results, take the pork out of the fridge about 20-30 minutes before you want to cook it and bring it to room temperature. Meat cooked from room temperature tends to be more tender than meat cooked straight from chilled.

STEP
Season and dredge

Sprinkle both sides of the pork with a pinch of salt and pepper, then coat with a thin layer of plain flour.

coating pork with flour
Why "dredge" the meat?

Sprinkle the surface of the pork with flour to help the meat brown more beautifully and pick up more flavor as it cooks. Dredging also thickens the sauce slightly and helps it stick better to the surface of the meat.

STEP
Fry the pork

Add about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large frying pan while the pan is still cold. Place one piece of meat in the pan and move it around in a circular motion to spread the oil, then carefully place the other slices of pork so that they lay flat. (Try to avoid overlapping.)

placing pork in pan for shogayaki
Why start with a cold pan?

Placing the meat in a cold pan and allowing it to heat up gradually will prevent the proteins from coagulating due to the sudden temperature change. This stops the meat from shrinking and becoming tough.

It is said that it reduces the rate of contraction of the muscle fibers by half compared to placing the meat straight into a hot pan.

Place the pan on the stove and heat on medium. Brown the pork underneath, then flip over and add the sauce.

pouring shogayaki sauce over cooked pork

Fry for a few minutes until the pork is cooked all the way through. Once it's fully cooked, remove it from the pan and place it on serving plates.

frying shishito peppers in leftover shogayaki sauce

Use the sauce leftover in the pan to cook the shishito peppers (or another vegetable of your choice). Fry until the peppers are slightly charred and the sauce has thickened.

STEP
Plate up

Serve the pork with shredded cabbage and the charred shishito peppers. Pour the leftover sauce generously over each serving.

dishing up shogayaki and drizzling with sauce

I recommend serving this dish with a small bowl of rice.

Storage Instructions

In the rare case of leftovers, shogayaki can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. Freezer storage is also possible and can be kept to 3-4 weeks in a sealable freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the frying pan for best results. Keep in mind that freezing shogayaki can cause the flavor of the sauce to deteriorate.

If you want to use this recipe for meal prep, make the sauce in advance, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and use it up within 4-5 days.

Storage summary

Room temperature - Not recommended.

Refrigerated - Shoyakai, 2-3 days. Sauce only, 4-5 days.

Frozen - Up to 1 month.

Shogayaki Ginger Pork with shishito peppers and a side salad

I hope you enjoy this delicious homemade shogayaki 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.ย Thank you!

A slice of shogayaki ginger pork held with chopsticks

Pairing and Side Dish Suggestions

  • Freshly cooked Japanese rice
  • Shredded cabbage
  • Miso soup
  • Japanese potato salad
  • Sesame spinach salad
Japanese Ginger Pork Buta no Shogayaki featured img

Buta no Shogayaki (Japanese Ginger Pork)

Yuto Omura
How to make delicious Japanese Buta no Shogayaki made with thinly sliced pork loin cooked in a fragrant homemade ginger sauce.ย  Perfect with rice.
5 from 6 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Lunch, Main Course, Pork
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 2 portions
Calories 476 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Sauce

  • 20 g fresh ginger - skin on
  • 1 tsp apple(s) - peeled
  • 1 tsp yellow onion(s)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp sake
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tbsp dashi stock - or water
  • 1 tsp honey

Shogayaki

  • 250 g pork loin - or pork belly, thinly sliced
  • salt and pepper - for seasoning
  • all-purpose flour - for dusting
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 6 shishito peppers
Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions
 

  • Finely grate 20 g fresh ginger, 1 tsp apple(s), 1 tsp yellow onion(s) and 1 clove garlic.
    grating ginger for shogayaki sauce
  • Add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp sake, 2 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp dashi stock and 1 tsp honey to a small bowl, then add the grated ingredients and mix well. Set aside for later.
    mixing grated ingredients with condiments for shogayaki sauce
  • Take 250 g pork loin and make small incisions in the fat to prevent curling.
    making incisions in pork to prevent curling
  • Sprinkle each slice of pork with a pinch of salt and pepper on both sides and then lightly dust with all-purpose flour.
    coating pork with flour
  • Take a large pan and add 1 tbsp cooking oil. While it's still cold, place one piece of pork in the pan and move it in a circular motion to spread the oil evenly around the pan.
  • Place the rest of the pork slices in pan laying flat, be careful not to overlap.
    placing pork in pan for shogayaki
  • Turn on the heat to medium and fry until the pork is browned underneath.
  • Once it's browned, flip it over and add the sauce.
    pouring shogayaki sauce over cooked pork
  • Move pork around the pan to distribute the sauce evenly.
  • Once pork is cooked through, remove it from the pan and place on serving plates.
  • Fry 6 shishito peppers in the same pan with the leftover sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the peppers are slightly charred and the sauce has thickened.
    frying shishito peppers in leftover shogayaki sauce
  • Turn off the heat and dish up the peppers, drizzle any leftover sauce over the pork.ย Serve with rice and salad and enjoy!ย 
    dishing up shogayaki and drizzling with sauce

Video

Notes

Buta no shogayaki is usually served with shredded cabbage/salad and Japanese style rice on the side.
Click here to add your own private notes.

Nutrition

Calories: 476kcalCarbohydrates: 23.5gProtein: 20.9gFat: 29.2gSaturated Fat: 9.9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 1403.5mgFiber: 1.6g
Keywords ginger pork recipe, Japanese ginger pork, shogayaki
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you thought!

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Andy Mc

    April 23, 2020 at 11:37 am

    5 stars
    Cooked this tonight. Reminded me of Japanese meals in better times!
    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Yuto Omura

      April 23, 2020 at 5:24 pm

      Hi, Andy
      You're welcome and thank you very much for the lovely comment!

      Reply
      • Christopher

        October 16, 2022 at 7:20 pm

        5 stars
        Every time someone talks about Japanese food they mention sushi and ramen but this and gyoza are what make me homesick. Great recipe.

        Reply
        • Yuto Omura

          October 17, 2022 at 5:35 am

          Hi Christopher,

          I agree, sushi and ramen are great, but I always think of them of restaurant dishes. Gyoza and shogayaki are so comforting and typical dishes to enjoy at home aren't they? Thank you so much, and thank you for the 5 star rating ๐Ÿ™‚

          Reply
  2. Pongpol Wathakul

    December 30, 2022 at 4:31 am

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing

    Reply
    • Yuto Omura

      December 30, 2022 at 5:18 am

      You're welcome! Thank you for your generous rating ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  3. kamlesh singh rajput

    August 09, 2023 at 10:33 am

    5 stars
    This good Recipe help me know about Japanese cosine
    so thank for you and your work

    Reply
    • Yuto Omura

      August 09, 2023 at 8:13 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply

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