Japanese Pork Bowl Recipe Tokachi Butadon

Why This Recipe Works?

The pork is first seared in a pan. This not only cooks the pork through, but it also evaporates moisture around the surface of the pork, which helps the sauce to adhere to it. By cooking the sauce to a temperature of 230 degrees F (110 C), most of the water has burned off, and the sugars have started to caramelize. This makes the glaze thick enough to coat the pork in a thick layer in one go, so you don’t have to baste it repeatedly. Using a kitchen torch to finish it off caramelizes the Butadon sauce around the meat’s exterior while slightly charing the edges. This gives the pork a crisp texture around the edges while lending a smoky flavor that you can’t get using a pan alone.

Ingredients for Japanese Pork Bowl

Rice - This wouldn’t be a donburi without the rice, and the rice used in Japan is short-grain. It has a higher ratio of amylopectin to amylose, which gives it a soft, sticky texture that compliments the sweet and savory grilled pork. Pork - Due to the high temperatures involved and the two-stage cooking process, it’s essential to use a pork cut with a high fat content. Otherwise, the meat will get dried out and chewy by the time you have the right amount of caramelization on the outside. My favorite is pork belly, but a well-marbled pork shoulder will work as well. Sake - Contrary to popular belief, the role of sake here is not to add alcohol, but rather to impart umami into the sauce (otherwise, you just have sweet soy sauce). The fermentation process the rice undergoes to make sake produces a high concentration of amino acids (such as glutamate), which creates the taste of umami. Other fermented beverages such as wine and beer contain some amino acids, but they’re at a lower concentration. Also, both of these beverages have other flavors and tastes (such as tartness and bitterness) that will throw off the taste of your sauce. If you’re concerned about the alcohol content of the sauce, you don’t have to worry. Ethanol turns to vapor at 78 degrees C. The sauce gets cooked to 110 degrees C, so the alcohol will have burned off by the time you eat it. Soy sauce - There’s no need to get fancy here. I just used regular Kikkoman. That being said, the formulation of Kikkoman for the Japanese market and foreign markets is apparently different, so if you can find it, I recommend getting the imported stuff from Japan. Mirin - I’ve long avoided using mirin in my recipes because most of the mirin available outside of Japan is fake. It’s cheap alcohol with flavorings, corn syrup, and MSG. However, if you can get real mirin, it adds a beautiful depth of flavor and mellow sweetness to the Butadon sauce. How do you tell if your mirin is real or not? Check the ingredients. Real mirin should not contain any salt, sugar, corn syrup, flavorings, colorings, or MSG. That being said, if you can’t find mirin, you can make a suitable substitute by mixing 2 parts Shaoxing wine or sake with 1 part sugar. Sugar - I like using unrefined evaporated cane sugar for this because it lends some caramel and molasses notes. You can also use light brown sugar. Garnish - These pork bowls are typically garnished with green peas, edamame, or shiraganegi (the white part of welsh onions shredded into thin strings). I prefer using scallions because they add a pop of color while imparting a nice fresh flavor to the fatty pork.

How to Make Japanese Pork Bowl

The first thing you want to do is cook some Japanese short-grain rice. I have a tutorial for cooking perfect Japanese short-grain rice here. It covers a lot of information about rice, and includes a method for cooking it on the stove that will yield perfect results every time. Next, you want to make the Butadon sauce for the pork bowl. Add the sake, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and a smashed clove of garlic to a pot and bring this to a boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a low boil, but keep a close eye on it so that it doesn’t boil over. The sauce is done when it’s the consistency of maple syrup, and it hits a temperature of 230 degrees F (110 C). For the pork, slice it into ¼-inch thick pieces against the grain, and sprinkle it evenly with salt. Get a frying pan nice and hot over medium-high heat and add the pork in a single layer. If you’re using pork belly, you’ll want to flip it over every few seconds to keep it from curling, but for other cuts of pork, you can let it brown on one side before flipping it. Once the pork is cooked through and lightly browned on both sides, transfer it to a plate. Repeat this process if needed until you’ve cooked all of the pork. Remove the pan from the heat and drain off the oil. Use paper towels to soak up any remaining oil in the pan. This is important as the oil not only adds unnecessary fat, it can also prevent the glaze from sticking to the pork. Put the pan back on the heat and add ¼ cup of the Butadon sauce to the pan. Return the pork to the pan, and flip the pieces over repeatedly until they’re well glazed. Set a wire rack on a flame-proof tray and transfer the pork onto the rack. Use a kitchen-torch to torch one side of the pork until the glaze is caramelized, and the pork is lightly charred around the edges. To assemble the pork bowl, split the cooked rice between two bowls and drizzle a few spoonfuls of sauce over the rice. Arrange the grilled pork on top of the rice and garnish your Butadon with chopped scallions.