“Cooked this tonight. Reminded me of Japanese meals in better times!”
– Andy Mc
What is Shōgayaki?
Some dishes are just pure nostalgia, taking you right back to your childhood. Buta no shogayaki (豚の生姜焼き) is one of those weeknight dinner dishes that many of us Japanese people have a soft spot for. It’s the moment that the familiar aroma of sizzling ginger and sweet-savory sauce hits the air.
In Japanese, “shōga” means “ginger,” and “yaki” means “to fry.” When served with plain white rice, shredded cabbage, and a bowl of miso soup, it’s just perfect.
Although pork is not mentioned in the name, this dish is made almost exclusively with pork. The full name would be “Buta no Shogayaki” (豚の生姜焼き), which means “pork fried with ginger.”
This classic has been a staple in Japanese homes since the early 20th century. Ginger was originally used to balance the richness of the pork, but it quickly became the star flavor that defines this comforting dish.
How I Developed This Recipe
I developed this recipe to help those living outside Japan recreate authentic shogayaki with confidence.
But I wanted to go further by adding a modern twist to these traditional flavors, creating what I believe is the ultimate version. This dish captures the authentic aroma and flavor of Japan, and I hope you can establish a new family weeknight dinner tradition with this modern recipe.
I’ve created hundreds of recipes for this blog, but this shogayaki remains one of my favorites!
Main Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Fresh ginger root: Use unpeeled ginger for maximum flavor.
- Soy sauce: For the most authentic flavor, use Japanese koikuchi shoyu (soy sauce). Chinese light soy sauce is a good alternative.
- Sake: If you have access to a Japanese grocery store, cheap drinking-grade sake is ideal, but cooking sake and dry sherry are acceptable substitutes.
- Mirin: Try to find “hon mirin” (本みりん) for the most authentic sweet flavor. Mirin-style seasoning is a good alternative.
- Shishito peppers: Thinly sliced bell peppers are a common alternative.
- Apple: This adds a subtle natural sweetness that balances the ginger’s sharpness. If you’re short on time or don’t want to buy a whole apple, apple juice or smooth applesauce are great alternatives.
- Dashi stock: If you have homemade dashi leftover, use it for extra depth of flavor. If not, water is perfectly acceptable or a pinch of dashi granules in the sauce mixture.
How to Choose Your Pork Cuts
The best cut of pork for shogayaki is actually up for debate, even in Japan. You can make tasty shogayaki with almost any pork cut, as long as it’s sliced to the right thickness. But there are some cuts that Japanese kitchens like best.
If you’re looking for the most classic shogayaki, supermarkets in Japan usually sell pre-sliced pork that’s about 3-4 mm thick. These are usually cut from the rib or loin section. I particularly recommend the rib cut from the shoulder loin, which has marbling throughout and remains tender and juicy when cooked.
If you’re using thinner slices (about 2mm, similar to shabu-shabu cuts), it’s better to choose fattier cuts like pork belly rather than leaner loin cuts because the higher fat content helps prevent the meat from drying out during the quick cooking process.
Just note that if you want the most traditional, nostalgic shogayaki experience, go for the slightly thicker rib or loin cuts. They’re the “classic” choice in Japanese households.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make ultimate Shogayaki Pork at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
If you prefer to watch the process in action, check out my YouTube video of this recipe for a complete visual walkthrough!
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.
Ginger has most of its essential oils and flavor compounds concentrated in the skin. Just scrub it with a vegetable brush to get rid of any dirt before you start grating.
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!
If you add ingredients to the pan one by one, some components might over-reduce while others remain underdeveloped. Combining everything first creates a balanced flavor profile.
Make a few small cuts across the fatty parts and muscles of your pork slices. This will help prevent the meat from curling during cooking because muscle and fat contract at different rates when heated.
For best results, take the pork out of the fridge about 10-15 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.
If you want to get the most authentic shogayaki, go for pork with good marbling. In Japan, the go-to cut is “rib” from the shoulder loin area (about 3-4 mm thick), which has fat marbled through the center rather than just along one edge. This cut stays juicy and tender when cooked.
If using thinner slices (like shabu-shabu cuts), go for fattier cuts like pork belly so it won’t dry out during cooking.
Sprinkle both sides of the pork with a pinch of salt and pepper, then coat with a thin layer of all-purpose or cake flour.
The thin flour coating serves multiple purposes: it keeps moisture from escaping during cooking (so the meat stays juicy), creates a beautiful golden crust thanks to the Maillard reaction, and helps the sauce stick to the meat.
For traditional 3-4mm thick cuts, dusting with flour is essential for moisture retention. However, if you choose to use very thin cuts like pork belly, you can skip the flour. The fat in the meat naturally keeps it moist, and the flour might not cook right on such thin slices.
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, avoiding overlap.
Starting with a cold pan is a specialized technique that gradually heats the meat, preventing protein contraction that can toughen pork. This method reduces muscle fiber contraction by half compared to using a pre-heated pan.
But if you like your outside more caramelized, you can also use the high-heat searing method, especially if you’re using pork belly.
Place the pan on the stove and heat it to medium. Brown the pork underneath, then flip over and add the sauce.
For 3-4mm thick pork, cook approximately 1-2 minutes per side. Thinner cuts (2mm) need only 1 minute per side. Look for a change in color from pink to white throughout, with no pink remaining.
Once it’s fully cooked, remove it from the pan and place it on serving plates.
If using fattier cuts like pork belly, you can remove excess rendered fat from the pan before adding your 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.
The perfect shogayaki sauce should coat the back of a spoon without being too thick or watery. If needed, adjust the consistency by cooking a bit longer to reduce or adding a splash of dashi/water if it’s too thick.
Serve the pork with shredded cabbage and the charred shishito peppers. Pour the leftover sauce generously over each serving.
I recommend serving this dish with a bowl of cooked rice. If you’re interested in learning how to cook Japanese rice, check out my post.
Storage summary
Room temperature – Not recommended.
Refrigerated – Shoyakai, 2-3 days. Sauce only, 4-5 days.
Frozen – Up to 1 month.
Essential Tips & Tricks
- Choose the right cut: For authentic shogayaki, use pork shoulder “rib” cuts with fat marbled through the center (3-4mm thick), or fatty pork belly for thinner slices.
- Grate ginger with skin on: After washing thoroughly, grate with skin intact for maximum flavor.
- Mix all sauce ingredients beforehand: Combining everything at once ensures balanced flavor development rather than adding ingredients one by one.
- Flour coating depends on thickness: Use flour coating for thicker cuts (3-4mm) to prevent moisture loss; but you can skip flour for very thin, fatty cuts.
- Be patient with browning: Resist the urge to move the meat until it’s properly browned on one side.
With these simple tips in mind, you’re set for success every time you make shogayaki.
Serving Suggestions
- Freshly cooked plain Japanese rice
- Miso soup
- Shredded cabbage
- Pickled cucumber
FAQ
Here are answers to frequently asked questions I have received across all platforms, including here, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to me anytime! It will be a big help for everyone in this community!
It balances sweet and savory flavors with distinctive ginger warmth. Every household has its version, but all share that comforting quality that makes this dish nostalgic.
Ask your butcher for 3-4mm slices of marbled pork loin or shoulder. Alternatively, partially freeze pork and slice it yourself with a sharp knife or a meat slicer.
Grate ginger with skin on, use Japanese dark soy sauce, and select the appropriate pork cut (3-4mm) with good marbling. Serve with thinly shredded cabbage and freshly cooked Japanese to complete the authentic experience.
I hope you enjoy this 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. Thank you!
More Japanese Pork Recipes
- Pork Chop Teriyaki with Lemon
- Subuta (Japanese Style Sweet And Sour Pork)
- Katsudon (Japanese Pork Cutlet Bowl)
- Tonteki (Japanese Pork Chop Steak)
Want more inspiration? Explore my Pork Recipe Roundup Post for a carefully selected collection of tasty recipe ideas to spark your next meal!
Buta no Shogayaki (Japanese Ginger Pork)
Ingredients
Sauce
- 20 g ginger root skin on
- 1 tsp apple or apple juice or smooth apple sauce
- 1 tsp onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 3 tbsp sake
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp dashi stock use leftover homemade dashi stock, or dissolve a pinch of instant dashi granules in 1 tbsp of water
- 1 tsp honey
Shogayaki
- 250 g pork loin 3-4mm thick, or thinly sliced pork belly
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- all-purpose flour for dusting
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 6 shishito peppers or mini sweet peppers/sliced bell peppers
Instructions
- Finely grate 20 g ginger root, 1 tsp apple, 1 tsp onion and 1 clove garlic.
- Add 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 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.
- Take 250 g pork loin and make small incisions in the fat 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.
- 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.
- Turn on the heat to medium and fry until the pork is browned underneath. Once browned, flip it over and add the sauce. 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.
- Turn off the heat and dish up the peppers, drizzle any leftover sauce over the pork. Serve with rice and salad and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Choose pork with good marbling – rib cut from the shoulder loin is ideal for 3-4mm slices, while fatty pork belly works best for thin slices under 2mm.
- Grate ginger with skin on after thorough washing for maximum flavor.
- Look for visual cues of doneness – no pink remaining and clear juices, with approximately 1-2 minutes per side for standard thickness.
- Start cooking in a cold pan and heat gradually to prevent protein coagulation and maintain tenderness.
- Serving suggestions: Freshly cooked Japanese rice, shredded cabbage, miso soup, pickled cucumber.
Cooked this tonight. Reminded me of Japanese meals in better times!
Thanks for sharing.
Hi, Andy
You’re welcome and thank you very much for the lovely comment!
Every time someone talks about Japanese food they mention sushi and ramen but this and gyoza are what make me homesick. Great recipe.
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 🙂
Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome! Thank you for your generous rating 🙂
This good Recipe help me know about Japanese cosine
so thank for you and your work
Thank you!