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.
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- ½ lb thinly sliced pork loin (I use sukiyaki meat. See Notes)
- ¼ onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 inch ginger (about 1 tsp.)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp neutral flavor 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.
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Giulietta @ Alterkitchen
Uhm…. I think ginger is a perfect combination with pork, ’cause it dims the pork’s fat!
This marinade is very tempting! 🙂
Sissi
Nami, I love all the Japanese pork dishes and you have so many pork recipes on your blog! I am happy we are both pork fans 😉 This recipe will be the next I make (after the fantastic Teriyaki Pork and Potato rolls)! It looks even easier, but equally good. How long do you marinate the meat?
Nami
Hi Sissi, I just caught your question before going to bed. 🙂 You can marinate for a couple of hours or you can just marinate right before cooking. The meat is very thin, so you don’t really need to marinate for a longer time. I’ll update my recipe tomorrow morning. Thanks!
Raymund
A great alternative to pan fried and grilled pork, the flavours on this dish is so lovely and refreshing I may say.
Kay Ecker
Nami, looks delicious as usual 🙂
Maris(In Good Taste)
Your family is so lucky! This looks so delicious and I love the simplicity of it!
Tastes of Home (Jen)
One of my favourite Japanese ‘comfort food’ dishes 😀 Yours look delicious!!
Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover
Look like you have a wonderful Father’s day with your husband and kids, good for you. This recipe also good to wrap with Vietnamese spring roll and a lot of vegetables, i bet it taste good too. Have a great week ahead.
purabi naha
So this is Shogayaki! The mirin and sake would make it more succulent and flavourful. I would definitely try this recipe. Each pice of pork is so perfectly cooked!
Belinda @zomppa
Love ginger pork – what a lovely day with your husband!
Manu
Mmm I love ginger! This sounds like such a tasty recipe and I love that it is easy and fast to make (you know lately I am in desperate need of fast recipes!!! hehehe)! Perfect for a midweek dinner! 🙂
Liz
This sounds so much like our favorite Korean pork bulgogi…yum, yum! I know we’d love this, Nami!! Sounds like your family had a wonderful Father’s Day 🙂
Mr. Three-Cookies
I don’t think I have tried ginger pork, sounds interesting
kat
one of my favorites!
PolaM
Wow this looks sooo good! I love ginger and it looks like this is recipe really showcases it!
food-4tots
I love this Japanese dish very much. It sounds so simple, easy and healthy! Of course, very delicious!
Shawn
Delicious! You make it look so easy…I want to try this soon!
Carolyn
I love when you share your Japanese dishes! This one looks like it’s my kind of meal. Saved, because I plan to make it soon. Buzzed it too!
Adora's Box
This is something that my whole family will love. We all love pork especially with sweet seasonings. Quick and easy dish, too. Very good for weekdays. Luckily, all the ingredients are available.
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
This looks delicious! I love ginger with pork. I posted an Asian pork dish today as well 🙂 I am going to save this one to try though, sounds like something we would really like.
[email protected]
I m so glad to learn japanese cooking from you Nami. I have been noticing that the ingredients are so less in number & strong flavors. I m a big ginger fan- add it on anything & everything under the earth.This dish looks awesome!
BTW..I tried miso salmon at Cheesecake factory this weekend after seeing that condiment in your blog- was addictive! Have a great week ahead!
Mika
This is my favorite dish for summer!
Biren @ Roti n Rice
This sounds delicious and very similar to a pork dish our family loves. Cooking this must be quite fast with the thin slices of meat. Sounds like you all had a wonderful Father’s Day.
[email protected]
Yum Ginger Pork sounds great! I always just pan fry the shabu pork and eat it with daikon and ponzu. This looks like another great option!
Firefly
This looks so yummy. My family loves pork and I can always use more yummy recipes like this one 😀 Thanks for sharing Nami 🙂
Juliana
Nami I love the simplicity of this dish…easy and fast…and so tasty.
Hope you have a wonderful week ahead 🙂
Allie
I’m glad your family had a nice Father’s Day!
tigerfish
The Chinese also have a ginger pork dish – a stir-fry of thin slices of pork in soy-based sauce then topped with crispy fried ginger “matchsticks”. I don’t think I have tried the Japanese version of ginger pork. But as long as it is ginger, it is going to taste quite good.
Happy When Not Hungry
Wow this pork looks amazing! Love all the flavors. What a beautiful dish!
kankana
Pork with ginger .. sounds so delicious! Can i replace sake with wine ?
Nami
Hi Kankana! The closest thing is Chinese rice wine. White wine and sake tastes very different so I’m not sure what kind of flavor it will turn into with white wine (no red wine).
If you go to Chinese market, they have sake there. I don’t drink sake myself, and I’m not too sure which one to pick. So I usually pick “sake for cooking.” Some people might point to mirin and say that’s cooking sake, but it is not. The safest and closest bet is Chinese rice wine, I think.
Sandra
Nami you know I love pork! Going to have to review your knife/cutting tips before I attempt this one and probably sharpen my knives. Really good recipe and I always look forward to your pictures.
Jeff
This recipe looks delicious!!! Another one for me to mark down! Thanks for your previous comments as well, I really appreciate them!
Could you tell me what a traditional Japanese dessert would be? Something that would go great right after eating sushi! Japan has so many unique dinner meals, but I don’t really see many dessert items. Is dessert a big Japanese thing?
Nami
Hi Jeff! We don’t really have a dessert custom like we have here in the US. I grew up eating seasonal fruits after lunch or dinner. If you go to Japan and have a traditional meal, they don’t offer you a dessert menu. And even they have it, they only have a few items. For example, if you go to a Sushi bar, usually they might have seasonal fruits, Purin (creme caramel), and Matcha ice cream (green tea ice cream)…. something like that. Fruits in Japan are very expensive too… But once in a while we eat cake and other desserts after dinner.
Our traditional dessert (snack) is prepared to go with green tea, and we call it tea snack. We have manju, mochi, and all kinds of sweets made for afternoon tea. But I think you are talking more about American style dessert.
We do have huge sweets/bakery industry. Mostly we buy these desserts to bring to someone’s home or eat on special occasions. Here, you bring wine as a gift, but in Japan dessert is common. And if it’s Western/Westernized restaurant, they serve Western desserts. Japanese bakery has more European influence than American, so it’s more delicate kind of sweets. For example I barely see cupcakes and brownies in Japan. Sorry it became a long answer… I hope I answered to your question. 🙂
Nami
Hi Foodtopii! To cook Ginger Pork, a lot of people use sugar instead of mirin, but I prefer majority of sweetness coming from Mirin than sugar. So my ratio is more mirin than sugar. Each family has their own version; some don’t even put sugar/mirin at all. Ginger Pork is usually sweet soy sauce flavor. Mirin has lower alcohol content and has mainly sugar. So… you can replace (cooking) sake with Chinese rice wine, but if you replace mirin with alcohol, you have to know this dish will not be sweet at all (unless you increase the amount of sugar). Sorry if I made it too complicated…
Amelia
yummy, pork with ginger great combination. Yours look very appetizing.
chopinandmysaucepan
I love anything ginger in Japanese cuisine, weather its part of the recipe or preserved with vinegar, or the vinaigrette mackerel with grated ginger and shallots because it’s a great appetizer and I can see this recipe will taste awesome!
elle marie Yamamoto
I do like my pork, but I don’t have it often, I used to get this bento all the time “miso shoga saba” it was really delish. I’m craving ume right now.
Mandy - The Complete Cook Book
Another fabulous recipe Nami. All flavours I love. I have added oyster sauce so a similar dish before.
🙂 Mandy
marla
Hi Nami, beautiful pork today!
Cookin’ Canuck and I would love if you linked up this recipe & any 2 other side dishes in this weeks Get Grillin’ event posted on both of our blogs. We have a fabulous Ile De France Cheese giveaway. You just need to link up on one site 🙂 http://su.pr/17fizq
Tina (PinayInTexas)
I’m sure that Father’s Day celebration turned out great for Shen- with a lovely wife and adorable kids enjoying a delectable meal in a wonderful restaurant with him, what else could he ask for?! 🙂
Your Shogoyaki really sounds so easy to prepare, but looks so tasty. I hope I can give this a try soon!
Mikaela Cowles
I love how ginger can add such a punch to a dish! This sounds fabulous. So glad to hear you enjoyed celebrating Father’s Day.
Lyn
Hmmm… I love any meat with ginger! In SG we have these dishes : pork/chicken/beef/deer/sliced fish stir-fry with ginger and green onions. Very nice!
Now I know another method to cook meat! My hubby is a meat-eater and can’t live w/o them! So I’ll always have to think of different ways to cook the meat, otherwise he’ll gets bored with the only few kinds I know and complain… lol
Cakewhiz
I am not really a pork eater but i sure know many people who are. Next time i have them over for lunch or dinner, i would try out this recipe and pray that it turns out half as good as yours 🙂
rebecca
my Japanese neighbor and her friend taught me how to cook this dish love it the one Japanese dish i can cook he he
Jamie @ Wokintime
Nami – another great recipe!! And also, I didn’t get a chance to congratulate you on your 100th post. You’re a rockstar and an amazing cook!
Terris-Free Eats Food
This looks delicious and great for a weeknight meal. My kids always love any cut of meat that is thin like that, so I know they will like it. I always love all the dishes you share, but the Japanese ones are the ones I look forward to!
Tiffany
I am a HUGE fan of ginger! Love the flavors you have going on here! And I’m TOTALLY looking forward to the Japanese dishes you’ll have coming up soon. I hope you had a great Tuesday!
A Little Yumminess
Yum! I can see this becoming a regular at our place for dinner
Kim - Liv Life
MMM!!! Nami!! What a wonderful reicpe. My son is a pork lover and I’m certain that this one would make him happy. It’s now on our list!!
Cristina
Mmm. Those pork slices are perfectly caramelized…looks so good, Nami! Served over a bed of steamed rice…more perfection. Beautifully presented. 😉
[email protected]
Nami, this looks woderful! ginger and pork = Yummy!! I love that combination.
sensiblecooking
Ginger pork the name itself sound so wonderful. And with all those ginger, onion and garlic I bet they are to die for.
Sandra's Easy Cooking
Oh Nami this recipe is fantastic. I love ginger and I think it would add so much flavor to pork..sounds and looks amazing!
Chef Dennis
your gingered pork looks so very very good!! Would love to try it, I know my wife would love it with all that ginger!
Congrats on the top 9 today!
Beth Michelle
Hope you guys had a wonderful fathers day! Im looking forward to the review since the last one made me want to jump on a plane to go have brunch in San Fran! This pork looks so delicious!!! Beautiful photos, they make the dish SO appetizing!
Cookin' Canuck
What a simple and beautiful dish. This would work well for a busy weeknight or a special occasion.
Family Fresh Cooking and I would love if you linked up this recipe & any 2 other entrees in this weeks Get Grillin’ event posted on both of our blogs. We have a fabulous Ile De France Cheese giveaway. You just need to link up on one site. http://bit.ly/jjM7Qg
Laura
Hi Nami!
Do you cut the pork yourself or buy it already sliced thin? I’m wondering if Whole Foods would be able to cut it so thin for me.
Thanks!
Nami
Hi Laura! If you see my ingredient section, there is a link for the meat I bought. Japanese store sells thinly sliced meat for pork and beef. Some food bloggers told me that they freeze the meat (a little bit – still somewhat soft enough to cut) and slice on their own. Japanese food use thinly sliced meat most of the time and I know this can be a little bit hard when you don’t live close to a Japanese market… I asked American supermarket butcher for thinly sliced meat, but it was close to 1 cm, instead of 1 mm. LOL. I think the meat has to be frozen to be able to cut that thin…
Cooking Gallery
I am sure I’d love this, I love the combo of soy sauce, mirin, garlic, ginger and sugar :)!I am sure I’d recreate this dish at home :).
Jun
I really like simple and comforting meal like this. Thanks for sharing!
Helen in Houston
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!!!!
Nami
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!
Priscilla - She's Cookin'
Yes, more Japanese recipes please 🙂 I’m bookmarking for next week with stir fried veggies for a post 4th of July healthy meal! Have a safe and happy 4th!
Ninette
I am so hungry looking at this! I was just in Japan a couple days ago, albeit just at Narita. Much nicer now than when I lived in Japan 20+ years ago. I was in Seoul and had the worst tonkatsu kare ever. Didn’t know it was possible to mess that up!
Susan
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.
Nami
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. 🙂
Angel
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.
Nami
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!
Tataya Kudo
Hi Nami- I love Pork Shogayaki very much and it is one of my all time favorite Japanese foods. But I always add the marinate to the fry pan and make it more like stir fry pork in ginger sauce:-). Not so authentic right? But the Japanese restaurants in Thailand serve that version!!
Nami
Hi Tataya! Even in Japan there are so many versions of Shogayaki, and I sometimes add the marinate in the pan and make it more saucy version too! So yours IS authentic! 🙂
Jill @ MadAboutMacarons
Nami, I know this seems like a redundant, extremely ‘late’ comment but just popping in here to say how much I LOVE this recipe. Ever since you posted it, my kids love this dish so much that they now make it themselves, it’s so easy yet ridiculously tasty! Thank you. You’ve been such an inspiration to them.
TheKitchenLioness
Nami, your lovely Bento post today made me go back and take another look at this lovely ginger pork recipe – pure bliss and simplicity, exactly the kind of recipe I am always on the lookout for!
Meghan
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!
Nami
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! 🙂
Tan
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.
Nami
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 🙂
Miss Food Fairy
I think I will have to try this tonight! I just got some pork loin cutlets out of the freezer. All I’ll have to do is tenderise them to flatten them out a bit. Thanks for the inspiration. Will let you know how they turn out
Jenny
ooh, that is a very nice recipe, Nami, thanks!
Nami
Thank you Jenny! I hope you enjoy this recipe. And Happy Holidays to you and your family! 🙂
gwenne
Clicking print takes me to home of Just One Cookbook, not to a printable version of the recipe. Frustrating!
Nami
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.
Nami
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!
Lucy
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?
Nami
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).
Isabel
Can we substitute pork with chicken for this ginger sauce recipe?
Nami
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!
Naomi
I made this tonight and it turned out great! Thanks for posting this ????
Nami
Hi Naomi! Thanks for trying this recipe! So happy you liked it! 🙂
Tina Mayo
I made this for dinner last night. I posted a photo of it on your facebook page. Looks almost like your picture!
Nami
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
Angie
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.
Nami
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! 🙂
Sara
Great recipe! Easy, delicious and satisfying. Cannot wait to try the others!
Nami
Hi Sara! So happy to hear that. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
Natcha
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!
Nami
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!
Natcha
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.
Nami
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. 🙂
Anita
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!
Nami
Hi Anita! I’m so glad to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback, Anita! 🙂
Eric H.
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!
Nami
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!