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–+ servings

Buta no Shogayaki (Japanese Ginger Pork)

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 2 portions

Ingredients 
 

Sauce

Shogayaki

  • 250 g pork loin 3-4mm thick, marbled shoulder-loin; thin pork belly also works
  • salt and pepper for seasoning
  • all-purpose flour for dusting, or potato/corn starch for GF
  • 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.
    grating ginger for shogayaki sauce
  • 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.
    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 browned, flip it over and add the sauce. Move pork around the pan to distribute the sauce evenly.
    pouring shogayaki sauce over cooked pork
  • 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. Serve with rice and salad and enjoy! 
    dishing up shogayaki and drizzling with sauce

Notes

  • Use a micro-plane grater or Japanese "oroshi" style grater to fully break down ginger fibers.
  • Thoroughly wash and grate the ginger with the skin intact for maximum flavor.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Meal-prep friendly: cool cooked pork in sauce, store airtight up to 3 days in the fridge, and reheat gently with 1 Tbsp water.
  • Serving suggestions: Freshly cooked Japanese rice, shredded cabbage, miso soup, pickled cucumber.