Classic Japanese ginger pork (Shogayaki) recipe. Tender sliced pork loin in a sweet ginger sauce, Ginger Pork is one of my favorite homemade dishes. Ready in 20 minutes!
Ginger Pork, or what we callShogayaki(生姜焼き), is a homey Japanese dish. I loved it when I was growing up and still enjoy it very much these days. When I miss home, I’d often cook this for our family dinner and for the kids’ bento lunches.
The tender, juicy pieces of pork coated in a sweet gingery sauce, and served over rice? Pure comfort food. Today I’ll show you how to make this popular mom-style food at home.
What is Ginger Pork
In Japan, this dish is calledShogayaki(生姜焼き). Shoga (生姜) means ginger and yaki means grill or fry. Here, thinly sliced pork is cooked with soy sauce, sake, and mirin along with ginger.
Each family makes their ginger pork slightly different so you’ll find some variations. Some cook it without onion, some make it without any sweetener (no mirin or sugar), some may include garlic, and some may use different cuts of the pork.
How to Cook Ginger Pork
成分s You’ll Need
- Thinly sliced pork – You can use other kinds of meat, but in Japan, Shogayaki always refers to a pork dish.
- Flour – This is a new trick I learned to make sure the pork is not dry. More about this later.
- 缘故总是用来撒上猪肉（或其他肉类），以消除任何游戏味和味道。
- Ginger – Prepare enough ginger as we’ll also be using the ginger juice.
- Ginger Sauce: soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, and juice from the grated ginger.
而已！
Overview: Quick Steps
- 制作姜汁酱。
- Pan-fry the pork slices in batches and take them out to a plate.
- Saute the onion until translucent.
- 将猪肉加回锅中并倒酱。
- Once the meat is well coated with the sauce, transfer to a serving plate. Enjoy!
3 Important Tips to Make Juicy Ginger Pork
The biggest challenge with cooking pork is the meat can get dry and tough easily. Over the years, I’ve learned a few tips that help the pork stay moist and tender.
1. Use good quality pork
猪肉的质量产生了巨大的差异，我必须先提到这一点。
There are two types of thinly sliced pork cut in Japan that are used for ginger pork: the first one is pork loin or pork chop, and the other one is country-style pork ribs (这个帖子explains the cut in detail).
It’s up to your preference, but the country-style pork ribs have nice fat in the middle so it yields juicy meat.
2.使用稀释剂（⅛英寸或3毫米厚）猪肉
You can get a conveniently sliced and packaged “Ginger Pork Cut” at Japanese grocery stores. This cut is pork loin (pork chop), not the country-style pork ribs.
Asian grocery stores may carry thinly sliced pork for hot pot. These “hot pot” pork slices are thinner than the one we use for ginger pork. I personally do not mind these thin pork slices but keep in mind that you can’t “sear” paper-thin pork slices. The sliced meat will shrink and curl up (which is ok!) but it will be more of a stir-frying style.
If you don’t live near a Japanese market or Asian market, you can easily slice your own meat (follow my tutorial). Make sure your slice is less than ⅛ inch (3 mm). Thick pork slices get chewy and tough.
3.制作缝隙
It’s very important to make several slits on the connective tissue (white area) between the meat and fat. Red meat and fat have different elasticities, and when they are cooked, they will shrink and expand at different rates. These slits will allow the pork slices to stay nice and flat when pan-frying and prevent them from curling up.
If you don’t make slits, the sliced pork tends to curl up and it takes a longer time to cook evenly while other parts get overcooked.
4. Dust the meat with flour
这是我从我好朋友那里学到的新伎俩，我完全被伟大的结果销售，所以当我制作姜猪肉时，我一直在使用这种方法。
The role of the flour here is to prevent the pork from releasing the moisture/juice from inside the meat. Oftentimes, thinly sliced pork gets so dry because the moisture is released from the meat as it cooks. The thin layer of the flour also absorbs the delicious ginger sauce, which results in more juicy meat.
Please note: If your pork slices are paper-thin, which is less than ⅛ inch (3 mm) thickness, you do not need to dust with flour.
5. Don’t overcook
The rule of thumb for cooking pork is never to overcook it. When the pork is no longer pink, remove from the heat as soon as possible, and yes, even when it does not have a nice ideal sear yet. It’s more important to have tender meat than nicely seared meat.
Remember, the remaining heat will continue to cook while cooking the onion, and we will cook the pork again in the sauce; therefore, don’t worry if you think it’s slightly undercooked.
What to Serve with Ginger Pork
You will notice that ginger pork is usually served with thinly shredded cabbage. You can cut the cabbage into thin slices with a sharp knife, or you can use acabbage slicer像我这样做。我的妈妈推荐它多年前，我喜欢它！
I love eating the shredded cabbage with extra ginger sauce from the ginger pork. You can serve it with salad dressing of your choice, such asJapanese Sesame Dressing.
More Delicious Pork Recipes on JOC:
- Asian Pork Chop
- Pan-Fried Ginger Pork Belly from Kodoku no Gurume
- Tonkatsu
- Tonteki
- Honey Garlic Pork Chops
- Miso Pork and Eggplant Stir-Fry
Tableware from Musubi Kiln
I’ve partnered with a great ceramic online shop from Japan calledMusubi Kiln. You will get10% offwith a coupon codeJUSTONECOOKBOOKfor your purchase. In this post, I’ve used:
- Fuji Kutani Chopstick Rest Set
- Soukyu Kiln Plum Flower Kutani Sauce Plate
- Soukyu Kiln Treasure Bag Kutani Sauce Plate
- Atelier Yu Brilliant flower Kutani Rice Bowl
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Ginger Pork (Shogayaki)
Video
成分s
- 1knobginger（2“，5厘米）
- ½洋葱
- ¾lb切成薄片的猪肉腰(I use sliced pork for "ginger pork" from a Japanese grocery store; If you can't find paper-thin meat, slice the meat on your own. See the tutorial onhow to cut meat paper-thin.)
- 1Tbspsake(for pork)
- 1Tbspall-purpose flour (plain flour)(for pork)
- 1-2Tbsp中性风味油（蔬菜，米糠，油菜等）(for cooking)
- freshly ground black pepper(optional sprinkle at the end)
Instructions
-
收集所有成分。
To Make the Ginger Sauce
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在一个小碗里，将所有成分组合在一起姜汁酱。
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Scrape off the outer ginger skin with a knife (or spoon) and cut off any tough parts.
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Using a grater (I lovethis one！），抱怨姜，保持果汁。收集磨碎的姜并挤压液体。你会需要1 Tbspginger juice.
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Add½汤匙ginger juice (keep the rest for later) and add grated ginger as much as you like. We like the gingery taste, so we add about2-3 TSP..
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Next, grate the onion until you get1 Tbspof grated onion, including juice. Keep the rest of the onion for later.
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加入切碎的洋葱,生姜酱和混合t all together.
To Prepare the Ingredients
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Cut the rest of the onion into thin slices.
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If your pork slice is more than ⅛ inches (3 mm), you should make several slits on the connective tissue (white area) between the meat and fat. Red meat and fat have different elasticities, and when they are cooked, they will shrink and expand at different rates. These slits will allow the pork slices to stay nice and flat when pan-frying and prevent them from curling up.
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Sprinkle the rest of ginger juice and1 Tbsp清酒。
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If your pork slices are paper-thin, which isless than ⅛ inch (3 mm)thickness, you do not need to dust with flour.When you're ready to cook the pork slices,lightlysprinkle with flour. It prevents the pork from drying up and keeps the moisture/juice inside the meat.
煮猪肉
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In a large frying pan, heat oil on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, cook the pork slicesin a single layer, turning them over once the bottom is golden brown. Cook in batches so the meat can be seared properly without steaming the meat.
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When the pork is no longer pink, transfer to a plate; make sure not to overcook the pork at this stage as we will continue to cook in a sauce later.
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Once the pork is done cooking, add oil (especially if your pan is not a non-stick) and onion.
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在中等热量上搅拌洋葱直至金黄色，约6-8分钟。当洋葱是嫩和半透明时，加入猪肉。
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最后一次将酱汁混合并倒在猪肉上。将酱汁煮沸并将酱汁舀在猪肉上约2分钟。
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When the sauce is thickened, transfer to a serving plate.
储藏
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You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note:The post was originally published on June 20, 2011. The images and blog content have been updated and a new video is added in September 2021.
