Name: Pan-Fried Pork Belly & Ginger with Green Leaves & Avocado Salad in a Wasabi Vinaigrette (A Nikkei Buta no Shoga Yaki Salad)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: juice of ¼ lemon; 50 g (1¾ oz) sugar snaps; 25 g (1 oz) spring onions (scallions); 2 tsp sugar; 2 tbsp rice vinegar; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 1 garlic clove, crushed; freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp grated ginger; 400 g (14 oz) pork belly, thinly sliced; 25 g (1 oz) baby rocket (arugula) leaves; 4 tbsp soy sauce; 1 large onion, thinly sliced; toasted white sesame seeds, to garnish; 15 g (½ oz/⅓ cup) coriander (cilantro); ½ avocado; 100 g (3½ oz) iceberg lettuce leaves; 1–2 tbsp sunflower oil; 1 tsp sesame oil; 2 tbsp mirin; 2 tbsp sunflower oil; 1 tbsp wasabi paste

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Nikkei Cuisine

By Luiz Hara

Published 2015

About

A summertime favourite in Japan, this delicious salad is topped with thin slices of fried pork belly marinated in a rich mixture of ginger and soy, known in Japanese as buta no shoga yaki. It is an all-in-one meal – and with its zingy and intense ginger flavours, it’s a very refreshing one, too.

Ingredients

400 g (14 oz) pork belly, thinly sliced
1–2 tbsp sunflower oil

Method

Start by preparing the marinade. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, then add the pork belly and allow to marinate for about 10–15 minutes. Cover and set aside.

Now onto the wasabi vinaigrette. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, grated ginger, sugar and wasabi paste to a jar, close it and shake to mix. Ensure all the sugar and wasabi have dissolved in the liquid, then add the sunflower