Shōgayaki, Ginger Pork

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g pork shoulder (collar), trimmed of fat, thinly sliced (3 mm)
• 1 tbsp cornflour (10 g)
• 1 large brown onion (about 150 g)
• 300 g white cabbage (about ¼ cabbage)
• 30 g fresh ginger + 1 garlic clove
• 4 tbsp soy sauce + 4 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp honey (40 g)
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil (1 for the onion, 1 for the pork)
• 280 g Japanese short-grain rice (sushi rice)
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds (10 g)

🍴 Utensils

• Large frying pan or sauté pan
• Saucepan with lid
• Fine grater
• Chef's knife and chopping board
• Mixing bowl
• Colander

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water, rubbing it between your hands, pour off the water and repeat 4 to 5 times, until it's almost clear. Drain in a sieve for 10 min, then tip the rice into a saucepan with 360 ml cold water.
2. Cover, bring to the boil over a high heat, then turn down to very low and cook for 12 min without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and leave to rest for 10 min, still covered: the rice finishes swelling in the steam.
3. Meanwhile, shred the cabbage as finely as possible (1 to 2 mm) and plunge it into a bowl of iced water for 5 min to crisp it up, then drain well. Cut the onion into 5 mm half-moons.
4. Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with the edge of a spoon, then finely grate it along with the garlic clove. Mix in a bowl with the soy sauce, water and honey until the honey dissolves.
5. Halve the largest slices of pork. Dust them with cornflour and rub between your fingers so each slice has a thin, even coating: the sauce will cling better and the meat will stay tender.
6. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the onion for 3 to 4 min, stirring, until translucent and golden at the edges, then set aside on a plate.
7. Add the remaining oil, turn the heat up to high and spread the pork slices out in a single layer, in two batches if necessary: if they're too crowded, they'll stew instead of browning. Cook for about 1 min per side, until nicely browned.
8. Return all the pork and the onion to the pan, pour in the sauce and cook for 1 to 2 min, stirring, until it thickens and coats the meat in a glossy glaze. Don't cook any longer: the thin slices would toughen.
9. Divide the rice between plates, add the pork and its sauce, then a small mound of raw cabbage drizzled with a spoonful of sauce from the pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.