Ingredients
Scale
- 4 medium thick boneless pork chops, about ¾ inch thick (approximately 2 pounds)
- 1 Tablespoon neutral oil
- 3” piece of ginger
- scallion (minced for garnish if not using the ginger threads)
Sauce:
- 4 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 Tablespoons mirin
- 4 Tablespoons sake
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
Instructions
Make the sauce:
- Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set the sauce aside.
Make the Pork:
- Scrape the ginger with the back of a spoon (or knife) to remove the skin. Then grate half of it and set it aside. You need about 1 ½ Tablespoons of grated ginger (do not squeeze it out. A little ginger juice adds flavor).
- Make thin julienned shreds with the other half, by first slicing the ginger into paper thin slices. Next stack the slices and cut through them to make thin threads of ginger. Set aside.*
- Heat a large 12″ skillet over medium high heat for several minutes. Add the oil, swirl the pan to spread the oil, and then place the pork chops in the skillet.
- Sear the pork chops for 3 minutes and then flip the pork and sear the other side for another 2 minutes.
- Take the pork out of the skillet and set it on a plate.
- Add the minced ginger to the pan and stir for 10 seconds. Next add the sauce and stir to combine.
- Place the pork chops back in the pan with the juices, cover with a lid, and lower the heat to medium. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the pork chops are cooked through. (You can cut into a chop to check or take a temperature read if your chop is thick enough-160 degrees).
- Transfer the pork to a serving plate.
- Reduce the sauce in the pan for 2-3 minutes on medium high heat until it has a syrupy consistency. Pour the sauce on top of the pork. Serve immediately, garnishing with the ginger threads.
Notes
* Soaking the ginger shreds in ice water for a few minutes will give them a nice crispness and tame some of the bite. Though it isn’t essential, the soaking allows you to put a generous amount on the finished dish, giving you a polished look without an overwhelming ginger flavor.
*I prefer a medium cook on pork. If you like your pork well done, increase the cooking time in the sauce by a couple of minutes.
*If you are using thin slices of pork, decrease the cooking time in the sauce. And you will not need to cook it with the lid. Just sauté it in the sauce for a couple minutes after searing the pork for a minute on each side.
Keywords: shogayaki, japanese, pork