Classic Japanese ginger pork recipe, one of my favorite homemade dish with tender sliced pork loin in sweet ginger sauce. Ready in 20 minutes!
Today I want share Shogayaki (Ginger Pork) recipe, which is one of the most common pork dishes we make at home. Shoga (生姜) means ginger and yaki means grill or fry in Japanese. Thinly sliced pork is cooked with soy sauce, sake, and mirin along with ginger. Some includes garlic but it’s optional.
You can use other kinds of meat rather than pork, but in Japan Shogayaki refers to pork dish. I think it is the second most popular Japanese pork dish after Tonkatsu.
Shogayaki is usually on the menus at Japanese restaurants in the U.S. It’s really easy to prepare and it only takes less than half an hour from start to finish.
P.S. I hope you had a wonderful Father’s Day with your family members. We celebrated at a restaurant in Half Moon Bay and Mr. JOC will write his second restaurant review soon (Update: here’s the review). If you haven’t checked his first review on Navio at Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay Brunch, please click here to read. A friend of ours went to Navio for brunch today and had made-to-order lobster which she said was amazing. We completely missed it on our brunch so make sure you try it when you visit.
Similar Recipes:
Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for the FREE Just One Cookbook newsletter delivered to your inbox! And stay in touch on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram for all the latest updates. Thank you so much for reading, and till next time!
Classic Japanese ginger pork recipe, one of my favorite homemade dish with tender sliced pork loin in sweet ginger sauce. Ready in 20 minutes!
- ½ lb thinly sliced pork loin (I use sukiyaki meat. See Notes)
- ¼ onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 inch ginger (about 1 tsp.)
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
- 1 green onion/scallion (finely chopped)
-
Gather all the ingredients.
- In a small bowl, grate onion, garlic and ginger.
- Add the seasonings. We like our ginger pork to be a little bit sweeter, so we add 1 tsp. sugar (this is optional).
- Season the meat with salt and pepper.
- In a large non-stick frying pan, heat oil on medium-high heat. Put the meat in a single layer (cook in batches). Flip the meat when the bottom side is golden brown. If the meat is very thin like mine, cook time is very short. Make sure you don’ overcook the pork or else it gets harder (but also be careful not to undercook).
- When the meat is cooked through, add the seasonings and chopped scallion. Serve immediately.
Thinly sliced pork loin: If you can't find paper-thin meat, slice the meat on your own. See the tutorial on how to cut meat paper-thin.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Update: Pictures and recipe are updated in September 2013.
Just One Cookbook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This post may contain affiliate sales links, please see privacy policy for details.
Absolutely delicious! I’m so lucky to have a 99 Ranch Market and an H Mart in Houston, so it was easy to find the Sukiyaki sliced pork. They even label the package with the word “Sukiyaki” for us newbies. It is sliced thinner than all brands of prepackaged bacon, so it’s very easy to overcook. I heated my oil to medium hot, and it took less than 10 seconds on each side to fully cook the pork. Once it turns white, it’s done and it’s so tender. For an easy side dish, I cooked jasmine rice and added sauteed onion, garlic, and celery (all finely chopped) and a small amount of soy sauce. Thank you very much for posting the Ginger Pork, Nami. My next ventures will be your Yakisoba and Okonomiyaki. Just saying those names makes me feel like a chef!!!!
Hi Helen! I am glad you found a sliced pork package! Shabu shabu meat is even thinner, so be careful when you pick the meat. Yes, meat is so thin that cooking time is very short. You pretty much brown it and pour the sauce and done! Your side dishes look fantastic! I’m so happy you enjoyed the meal. 🙂 You can find Yakisoba noodle and Yakisoba sauce in 99 Ranch too. If you find Otafuku brand, that’s what I like best. Both are my favorite dish because I love sauce so much… if you also like Japanese mayonnaise, mix mayo and Okonomiyaki (or tonkatsu) sauce on a side of the dish, and dip Yakisoba/Okonomiyaki in this sauce…. My friend in Osaka told me that’s how you eat in Osaka area and I really love eating this way…. 😉 Enjoy!
Hi Nami,
I made your recipe for ginger pork today, but I used the pork chops I had in my freezer. My oldest son, who is a very picky eater, said this recipe is a keeper. He loved, loved it!!!!!!! So it was a successful dinner. Both my sons enjoyed it.
Thank you! Have a great 4th of July.
Hi Susan! I’m so happy to hear your son loved it!! 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know! I hope you had a great 4th of July. 🙂
Hi Nami
I made this ginger pork and put it in a miso soup with tofu, fishcake and noodles. It was delicious! I forgot to buy the ginger for the ginger pork:). I thought I had some at home but it was actually garlic. Wasn’t sure if clove of garlic is one segment or the big flower but I decided to go with one segment. The pork had a nice lightly sweetened flavor which contrasted the salty miso. Thanks for helping the kids and I eat this week.
Hi Angel – I’m so happy you enjoyed this dish! It’s great you adapted the recipe and everyone enjoyed it. 🙂 Thanks for giving me feedback. That really keeps me going!
This recipe was great! So tasty and refreshing, but filling -reminded me of ‘obaa-san’s’ cooking back in Japan. I didn’t add garlic, and I think without out it is the best option for me. Thank you for noting that it was optional.
I used 2 tsp sugar, however and loved it.
This will be an easy recipe to wow guests, too.
Thanks!
Hi Meghan! Thank you so much for your feedback! I sometimes don’t add garlic too (my mom doesn’t add garlic) but my husband likes a little bit of garlicky taste. 🙂 So glad to hear you enjoyed this dish, and thank you for writing! 🙂
I first wish to thank you for a wonderful website. I have tried the salmon Teriyaki with great success. sometime back and am planing to try this tonight for my family , i just want to inform you that the cut of meat you are using is loin and not tenderloin as listed on your ingredients.
Hi Tan! Thank you so much for your comment! Yes, you’re right. This cut is pork loin, not tenderloin. Thank you for catching my mistake. I’ll update shortly. Thank you for following my blog! xo 🙂
ooh, that is a very nice recipe, Nami, thanks!
Thank you Jenny! I hope you enjoy this recipe. And Happy Holidays to you and your family! 🙂
Clicking print takes me to home of Just One Cookbook, not to a printable version of the recipe. Frustrating!
Hi Gwenne! It looks like it’s happening only in this page. I’ll look into it and hope to fix it soon! Thank you very much for letting me know and I’m very sorry for the inconvenience.
Hi Gwenne! I fixed it! Here’s the link for print as well.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/easyrecipe-print/7914-0/
Thanks so much again!
I just discovered this post and your blog and I am so excited! I made this tonight with pork for scallopini, which was probably a little thicker than pork for sukiyaki. The package I had was 1.5 lbs, so I doubled the sauce. I realized too late that the recipe called for the garlic, onion, and ginger to be grated, so I minced them all very finely. Despite all of this, it turned out delicious!! I could eat this every week. Thank you!
P.S. The onion specifies 1/4 onion. I wasn’t 100% sure if that meant 1/4 of an onion or if a word was omitted and it’s supposed to be 1/4 cup?
Hi Lucy! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂 And it’s 1/4 onion (not cup).
Can we substitute pork with chicken for this ginger sauce recipe?
Hi Isabel! Pork gives oil/fat to the dish which adds the specific flavor… with chicken, it’s more lean (and healthy!) but kind of lacks that flavor. However, this is totally preference and you may not feel “missing out”. 🙂 I still recommend pork for this recipe, but yes, you can make it with chicken. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
I made this tonight and it turned out great! Thanks for posting this ????
Hi Naomi! Thanks for trying this recipe! So happy you liked it! 🙂
I made this for dinner last night. I posted a photo of it on your facebook page. Looks almost like your picture!
Hi Tina! I just saw the picture! Thanks so much for sharing it on Facebook. It looks delicious, and yeah it looks like mine! 🙂 Hope you enjoyed the recipe. xo
Hi! Just tried this recipe tonight. It was really good. I just found the sauce a little salty, next time, I will reduce the ratio. Otherwise, it was really good.
Hi Angie! I’m so glad you liked this recipe! Hope you can adjust the sauce to your liking. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Great recipe! Easy, delicious and satisfying. Cannot wait to try the others!
Hi Sara! So happy to hear that. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Made this dish a coupleof times already. Simply delicious. Actually, I found the recipe somewhere else but the instructions were not very clear so I checked your site and followed it instead. It was much easier with pictures. Thanks again and keep up the good work!
Hi Natcha! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and tried it a couple of times already! Good to know there was the original source written there so you could find my site (hope my recipe wasn’t stolen…). Thank you for your kind feedback!
Actually, when I said I found the ricipe somewhere else I meant the ginger pork recipes in general. There are quite a few out there but none is exactly the same. Yours is the only one with step by step pictures hence my favourite source of reference when in doubt.
Hi Natcha! Thank you so much for letting me know. I often deal with website contents that steal my recipes (copy and paste to their site)… so I was a bit worried. I understood what you meant. Thanks for clarifying. I’m happy to hear you like my instructions with step by step pictures. 🙂
Thank you Nami for this recipe! I made this for my family last night with rice and miso soup and everyone loved it. Thank you again!
Hi Anita! I’m so glad to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback, Anita! 🙂
My family absolutely loves this recipe! My daughter is possibly the pickiest eater on the earth and she absolutely devours it. She’s constantly asking for me to make “ginger pork” several times each week. The only change I made was instead of leaving the port as thin cutlets, I cut them into bite sized pieces so the kids don’t have to cut them up. Non-traditional, I know, but it tastes the same. Of note: in Hawaii we were able to get real Mirin, whereas in Korea I’ve only been able to find the flavored corn syrup/alcohol mixture they sell at grocery stores so far…there’s absolutely no comparison with the real thing! A bottle of real Mirin isn’t that expensive and worth every penny!
Hi Eric! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! The ginger taste is quite addicting and it helps bring appetite. 🙂 Cutting them up totally works! I use Hon Mirin too as I think it makes it difference. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback!
Another winning dish! Everyt one of your recipes I’ve tried has been a big hit with my family. Thank you.
Hi John! Awesome, so happy to hear that! At least we have similar tastebud. I test my recipes many times before posting, so hopefully it works for your family too! Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
Delicious and so easy to make! I followed the recipe to the tee….and so glad I did! My husband requested, I make this 3xs a week…LOL!
Hi Doris! AHAHAHA! AWESOME! I’m so happy to hear that. I could eat shogayaki 3 times a week and I don’t even mind eating the leftover for lunch. 😀 I’ve recently shared MISO ginger pork. Try that too. SOOOO good! 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback, Doris!
I made this for lunch today and it was delicious. Thank you!
Hi PN! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
My girlfriend’s family and I loved the taste of the pork! For sure going to be making this recipe regularly.
Hi Amy! I’m so happy to hear you and your GF’s family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
How does one go about reviewing a recipe for a dish? Is it based on the end result of what you created? Is it based on how easy the instructions are to follow to execute the dish properly as the chef intended? I think honestly one should review a recipe based on the journey it to took you on.
My journey started early yesterday afternoon when I went down to my local friendly butcher and ask for a beautiful cut of deboned pork loin. Then it was off to the grocery store to hunt for Mirin (an ingredient that is NOT easy to find in my home town) and a large stick of fresh ginger. My journey took me back home where I popped the pork loin in the fridge, sharpened my beloved carving knife, and made the sauce as per the recipe instructions (I had to make adjustments, as I was cooking for my wife’s family and had a large amount of pork loin to cook).
When I tasted the sauce for the first time, I knew that it meant serious business. This dish was gonna knock everyone’s socks off! After prepping for my other dishes, I took the pork loin out and lovingly felt the cold firmness of the slab of meat on my plank. Then gently and patiently I took my time to slice this big hunk of pork into 26 beautifully thin portions. Then I simply followed the steps of recipe above.
Now to give you an idea of my family, we are all of Dutch and German decent, and my wife’s side of the family really don’t have much exposure to Asian cuisine. These are simple down to earth folk who really like there meat saucy and in big chunks, their potatoes to be soft boiled and crispy roasted, and delicious sides of mashed veg.
You will not believe how a table full of rowdy people went very quiet for about five minutes while eating the shogayaki. For them it was a brand new experience of flavour combinations, of experiencing thinly sliced meat prepared in a way that they would never have ordinarily considered doing. The shogayaki was an amazing and resounding success!
And so my journey came to an end, and I can only say “Thank you Nami!” for sharing this wonderful recipe. Thank you for your easy to follow instructions. Thank you for teaching me how to cut meat into thin thin slices. Thank you for allowing me to make my family smile.
Hi Jacques! I’m sorry for my late response. I enjoyed reading your review and I want to thank you for your kind and genuine feedback. I am so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the dish. Your story on cooking this dish was very descriptive and I could imagine the scene. 🙂 Thank YOU for trying my recipe and writing this wonderful review. 🙂 xo
do you have a vegetarian with tofu and egglant and carrots and gobo?
Hi Janet! Do you mean if you can use those vegetables (or others) to make this recipe? Sure!
What did you serve this with? It looks like shredded cabbage. Is there a marinade on the side dish? I searched your recipes, but couldn’t find one that looked like your plate. Thanks.
Hi Holly! Yes, it’s shredded cabbage. Usually ginger pork is served with thinly shredded cabbage (I recommend this tool – super fluffy and airy shredded cabbage! https://aax-us-east.amazon-adsystem.com/x/c/QtOGwNDKIn3PilGZoa2A424AAAFsCkbn5gEAAAFKASA3Wx4/https://assoc-redirect.amazon.com/g/r/https://amzn.to/2lAaqVQ?linkCode=w61&imprToken=vhOFS6AwAe5zUvzSm358sg&slotNum=469).
We usually use Japanese dressing like sesame dressing or wafu dressing for the cabbage.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/sesame-dressing/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/wafu-dressing-japanese-salad-dressing/
I made this for my wife & I tonight, it was a huge hit. Thanks for the straightforward & delicious recipe.
Hi David! I’m so happy to hear your wife and you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for trying it and for your kind feedback! 🙂
Simply delicious!
Thank you Adriana! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Mmm, thank you! This is my third time making this, this time being made with tenderloin. Every single time has been a great success, winning me the best wife award.
I’m trying to wear my way into veganism. Do you think I could marinate tofu in the onion, ginger, garlic, and seasonings, then proceed with the recipe?
Hi Meghan! I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe! Thanks so much for your kind feedback. Yeah, it might be even tastier with deep-fried tofu (thicker kind) so it has spongy, a bit greasy (tasty!) flavor added! Let me know how it goes!
Love this recipe! Simple, quick and I love being able to create restaurant-level flavours in my own home 😃👍
Hi A Happy Bunny! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Your kind words mean so much to me! Thank you for your feedback. xoxo