What is Ginger Pork (Shogayaki)?
Ginger pork, or shogayaki, is a classic Japanese homestyle dish. The name Shogayaki translates as “ginger” shoga, and “to grill/sautee” yaki. So as you might expect, ginger is the main flavor for this dish. And while pork isn’t the only type of meat that can be used to make shogayaki, it is the most popular. Therefore that’s what we will be using today.
As for making the dish, it couldn’t be easier.
You start by mixing together the ginger marinade/sauce, which is basically a variation of teriyaki sauce. It features most of the same ingredients (soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar), but also has a ton of grated ginger and onion.
Then you pour about half of this marinade/sauce over the thinly sliced pork chops and let them sit for 15 minutes.
Finally, you sautee the pork chops with a few sliced onions and the remaining marinade/sauce until cooked through and the sauce has become nice and thick.
We are talking no more than 20 minutes to make this dish. So it’s great for a weekday dinner.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- What cut of pork is best? Well, traditionally you would use a lean cut like pork loin. But you can also use fattier cuts like pork shoulder or even pork belly. Neither one is right or wrong. However, always make sure that the pork is thinly sliced, about ¼ to ⅛ inch thick.
- Can’t find pork that thin? Then cut them thin yourself with a little trick. Start by freezing your pork chops. Then let them slightly defrost on your counter for roughly 2 hours. At this point, the pork should be defrosted enough to cut through. But still sturdy enough that cutting it thin should be easy.
- Traditionally ginger pork/shogayaki is always served with some finely shredded cabbage. But you can also make it that start of a meal by serving it with a bowl of rice and some miso soup.
- Check out some of our other great Japanese recipes like Chicken Teriyaki, Salmon Teriyaki, Sunomono, and Yakisoba.
Ginger Pork (Shogayaki) Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2 to 3
Ingredients
½ to ¾ Lb of Thinly sliced pork
½ Medium sized onion
1 Tablespoon of neutral-flavored oil
For the ginger sauce:
2 Tablespoons of sake
2 Tablespoons of mirin
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
1 Tablespoon of ginger, grated
1 Teaspoon of sugar
Instructions
- Make the ginger sauce: Place the sake, mirin, soy sauce, grated ginger, and sugar into a small bowl. Mix these ingredients until the sugar has dissolved.
Then grate some of the onion so that you have roughly 1 Tablespoon of grated onion. Add this grated onion to the sauce and stir to combine. Slice the remaining onion into thin strips and set aside for later.
- Prep the pork: Start by making small incisions all along the outside of the pork chops, no more than ¼ inch long.
This step is optional but it will help to make sure they don’t scrunch up while they cook. Then place the pork chops on a dish and pour roughly half of the ginger sauce over them. Let The pork chops marinate for 15 minutes.
- Cook the Pork: Add the tablespoon of oil to a large skillet/pan and place it over medium-high heat. Once the skillet/pan is hot add the pork in a single layer (do this in batches if you have to you don’t want to overcrowd the skillet/pan).
Let the pork cook on one side for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it gets lightly browned. Then flip each pork chop over and let them cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Place the cooked pork chops on a separate plate and set them aside.
- Finish the dish: Toss the sliced onion into your hot skillet/pan (add a little more oil if you need to). Then sautee the onion slices for 4 to 6 minutes, or until they have turned translucent and are slightly golden brown. Once that’s done add the pork back to the skillet/pan and pour the remaining ginger sauce over. Let this cook for another 2 minutes (making sure to flip the pork chops a couple of times) or until the sauce is nice and thick.
- Serve the ginger pork on a plate with some shredded cabbage and enjoy!
Ginger Pork (Shogayaki) Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ to ¾ Lb of Thinly sliced pork
- ½ Medium sized onion
- 1 Tablespoon of neutral-flavored oil
For the ginger sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons of sake
- 2 Tablespoons of mirin
- 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon of ginger grated
- 1 Teaspoon of sugar
Instructions
- Make the ginger sauce: Place the sake, mirin, soy sauce, grated ginger, and sugar into a small bowl. Mix these ingredients until the sugar has dissolved. Then grate some of the onion so that you have roughly 1 Tablespoon of grated onion. Add this grated onion to the sauce and stir to combine. Slice the remaining onion into thin strips and set aside for later.
- Prep the pork: Start by making small incisions all along the outside of the pork chops, no more than ¼ inch long. This step is optional but it will help to make sure they don’t scrunch up while they cook. Then place the pork chops on a dish and pour roughly half of the ginger sauce over them. Let The pork chops marinate for 15 minutes.
- Cook the Pork: Add the tablespoon of oil to a large skillet/pan and place it over medium-high heat. Once the skillet/pan is hot add the pork in a single layer (do this in batches if you have to you don’t want to overcrowd the skillet/pan). Let the pork cook on one side for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it gets lightly browned. Then flip each pork chop over and let them cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Place the cooked pork chops on a separate plate and set them aside.
- Finish the dish: Toss the sliced onion into your hot skillet/pan (add a little more oil if you need to). Then sautee the onion slices for 4 to 6 minutes, or until they have turned translucent and are slightly golden brown. Once that’s done add the pork back to the skillet/pan and pour the remaining ginger sauce over. Let this cook for another 2 minutes (making sure to flip the pork chops a couple of times) or until the sauce is nice and thick.
- Serve the ginger pork on a plate with some shredded cabbage and enjoy!
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