Pan-Fried Ginger Pork Belly

1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Make the sauce. In a bowl or a liquid measuring cup, combine 3 Tbsp sake, 3 Tbsp mirin, 2 tsp sugar, and 2 Tbsp soy sauce. Mix well. Divide into 2 portions. Tip: You can save the sauce for up to a week.
3. Cut off the core of ¼ head green cabbage and shred the cabbage into thin slices. I like using a cabbage slicer that yields superfine shredded cabbage.
4. Cut 1 Tokyo negi (naga negi; long green onion) until you have about 4–6 Tbsp chopped negi (or as much as you‘d like to use). Here, I use about 2–3 Tbsp of chopped negi per serving. Peel and grate the ginger knob until you have 2 tsp ginger (grated, with juice); you‘ll need about 1 tsp per serving.

To Cook Each Serving

1. I‘m cooking one serving at a time. Heat a nonstick frying pan on medium-high heat. Divide the 8 oz sliced pork belly pieces into 2 portions. Add one portion of pork to the pan without overlapping the meat too much. It’s okay if it does a little bit. Once the oil starts to render from the pork, add in one serving of the sauce. Note: If you’re using a stainless steel frying pan or cast iron skillet, I recommend applying a little bit of oil first. The oil from the pork belly should be enough to cook the meat without sticking to the pan.
2. Then, add 1 tsp grated ginger with juice and 2–3 Tbsp chopped negi.
3. Mix the ginger and negi in the sauce. Flip the meat once in a while to cook thoroughly.

To Serve

1. Place 1 serving of shredded cabbage on an individual plate and transfer the Pan-Fried Ginger Pork Belly and sauce. Repeat to cook the remaining serving. Serve immediately.