[Shinya Shokudou - Chapter 14] Buta no Shogayaki

I hope everyone had a good weekend. It's Sunday night which means it's Shinya Shokudou cooking club time again!  I was talking to my friend Miss W a couple days ago and she told me she was trying to follow the recipes I posted. (Thank you!) However, although some of the recipes are labelled "easy", the ingredients that are called for are not generally things that she would stock up in her pantry; and since she doesn't cook frequently, she's worried that the leftover ingredients are going to rot in her house if she can't finished them up all in one go.  Well, I guess this week's challenge is going to be very suitable for her.

This week's challenge is Buta no Shogayaki, 豚の生姜焼き. This pork and ginger stir-fry is a simple but delicious combination. The first time I had it was at a tiny Japanese restaurant serving mostly the locals near my old office.  Ever since I left that job, I have not been back to the restaurant (and I heard that it has moved to a less convenient location as well). Since then, I have never had Buta no Shogaki that tastes quite the same... not until a few days ago when I tried to make it at home...

Of course the credit goes entirely to the recipe that I used.  A few weeks ago, Mr. Bear bought me Harumi Kurihara's Everyday Harumi cookbook that has been on my wish list for a long time. Harumi Kurihara (栗原 はるみ) is a celebrity homemaker and I see her as the Japanese version of Martha Stewart, but better (in my humble opinion at least).  I love her cooking shows and everything that she sells at her lifestyle stores.  With this book, I no longer have to go through the painful process of translating Harumi-san's recipes in her monthly magazine (which are mostly in Japanese) before I even decide whether or not to use them. 

This Buta no Shogayaki recipe by Harumi only calls for four ingredients - pork, ginger, soy sauce and mirin.  At first, I was a bit skeptical because it sounded too good to be true.  How could a flavourful dish be so simple? Are you kidding me? Even just right before I cooked it, I was still debating whether I should look for another recipe, but now that I have tried it, all I can say is that, I AM SOOO GLAD I DID. Everyone who has had this dish loved it. My Mom couldn't believe it when I told her I threw everything together in under 15 minutes. Seriously, when you have a recipe like this, why bother looking further?

Adapted from Harumi Kurihara's Ginger Pork recipe

Serves 4

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

400g pork shoulder, sliced

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

6 tablespoons soy sauce - yes, it sounds like a lot but trust me it works just fine.

4 tablespoons mirin

1 teaspoon sugar - the recipe didn't call for it but I like how the subtle sweetness balances the flavour from the soy sauce

Vegetable oil, for frying

Method:

1. Tenderize by hitting the wrapped slices with a rolling pin or the back of a knife. Let the pork come to room temperature before cooking.

2. Mix the soy sauce and mirin together, add the grated ginger, and mix to combine.

3. Put a little oil in a frying pan over high heat. Dip the pork slices into the soy-and-ginger mixture and quickly brown in the hot frying pan. Add a dash of sugar if you like it a little sweeter like me.  Serve with rice.

Let's take a look at other memebers' Buta no Shogayaki!