Japanese Ginger Pork (Shogayaki)

Shogayaki is a beloved Japanese dish featuring thin slices of pork sautéed in a fragrant ginger-infused sauce. The pork is typically marinated briefly in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and freshly grated ginger, then quickly stir-fried until tender. This savory-sweet combination delivers a comforting flavor profile that's both robust and refreshing. Often served with steamed rice and shredded cabbage, Shōgayaki is a staple in Japanese home cooking, appreciated for its simplicity and satisfying taste.

Ingredients

Steps

Scrap skin off ginger. Finely grate ginger into a bowl.
Grate garlic and onion (if using) into the bowl
Mix 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons mirin, 3 tablespoons sake, 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 tablespoon water, stir and set aside
Cut half an onion, not too thick and not too thin
Thinly slice a quarter of cabbage
Soak in water for 2 minutes to remove any bitterness and make it more crisp and fresh
Drain cabbage and set aside
Slice pork thinly
Slash pork slices along the edge and poke on the surface to prevent them from curling when cooked
Season with pepper, and lightly with salt if pork slices are in the thicker side
Lightly coat pork slices with potato starch. This will help to lock in juices and sauce stick better to pork slices
Put 1 tablespoon of oil in pan over medium high heat and add in sliced onion.
Stir fry onion with pinch of salt until softened and nicely browned. Remove and set aside
Add 1 tablespoon of oil in pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add pork slices and cook for 1 minute or 2 until slightly brown
Flip and cook the other side until slightly brown. Do it in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding which may end up steaming the pork instead of a nice sear
Reduce heat to medium, add back the first batch of pork slices and onion to the pan
Stir the sauce and pour it into the pan. Let it bubble and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep flipping the slices so they soak up the sauce. When sauce has thicken, ginger pork is done
To serve, plate cabbage, pork slices and cherry tomatoes and drizzle sauce over pork slices
It is also nice to serve with rice and stir fry spinach
For non pork eaters, I also cooked chicken piece the same way
And serve chicken pieces with cabbage and cherry tomatoes