Pork Heart Shogayaki (Japanese Ginger Stir Fry)

One of the things I’m committed to is supporting both my local economy and mindfully reducing waste—this includes the meat that I eat which means if it’s edible on the animal, I will find a way to enjoy it. I don’t shy away from organ meats, since not only are they nutritious, but quite delicious. Unfortunately, they tend to be thrown away or viewed as garbage rather than the delicacies they are. You can use thinly sliced pork chops or beef for this if you’d like.

For shogayaki, I actually prefer beef (although pork is more popular for this dish in Japan), but I had two pork hearts from R&K Homestead that came with my lamb order and they are a great in between.

Heart has an undeserved reputation for being a tough organ meat, but when thinly sliced, it reminds me in both taste and texture of beef tongue, which makes it a precious commodity in my book as I am a fiend for gyutan. Once the pig heart is thinly sliced, I don’t worry about it being too tough since the springy mouthfeel is exactly what I love about it.

Here, for shogayaki, a soy ginger sauce is thrown in at the end so that the flavors are absorbed by the slices of meat that have developed a slight char on the edges. I like to garnish it with shiso from my garden, but scallion is fine too. Serve with white rice and cabbage salad for an simple and delicious meal.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pork heart, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
• 1/4 onion
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/8 cup sake
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Shiso or scallion, shredded, for garnish
• Vegetable oil, for the pan
• Cracked black pepper

1. Combine soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, onion, and ginger in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set to the side.
2. In a pan over high heat, sear the sliced pork heart until slihtly charred on the outside, lower heat to low-medium and pour in the sauce. Allow to simmer for a few minutes until the alcohol has burned off.
3. Remove from heat and arrange on plate, pour sauce over the meat and garnish with shiso or scallions.