Donburi with pork in teriyaki sauce

1. Boil rice. Rinse short grain Japanese rice in cold water 3-4 times until the water runs clear. Then, if time permits, cover the rice with a fresh portion of cold water and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Strain the soaked rice thoroughly. If possible, it is advisable to place the rice in a sieve and leave for 10-15 minutes.

2. Place the prepared rice in a saucepan. Pour in 300 ml of cold water. Over medium heat, bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and, covering the pan with a lid, cook the rice for 12-13 minutes until the water is completely absorbed. Turn off the heat, let the rice sit, covered, for another 10 minutes, and fluff with a fork before serving. If the “traditionality” of a dish is not of fundamental importance, you can use any rice to serve the dish and cook it in the most convenient and familiar way.

3. Combine the ingredients of the sauce: 3 tbsp. soy sauce, 2 tbsp. rice vinegar, 3 tbsp. white wine (or 2 tbsp sake), 2.5-3 centimeters of grated ginger root, 0.5 tsp. sesame or other vegetable oil and 3 tbsp. sugar (if using sake, then 2 tbsp sugar). Mix everything thoroughly until the sugar dissolves. Instead of wine or sake, you can use water in a pinch.

4. Beat portioned pieces of pork on both sides until soft and evenly thick. Lightly salt and pepper.

5. Rub the meat on both sides with starch so that the starch covers it with a thin layer. Shake off excess starch.

6. Pour vegetable oil into a cold, dry frying pan and add garlic cloves, cut into large slices. Garlic is necessary to flavor the oil. Once the pieces are browned and release their flavor into the oil, they can be removed from the pan.

7. Place the frying pan over medium heat and heat the oil. Move aside the garlic pieces, place the prepared pork pieces in the pan and fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown.

8. Pour in the prepared sauce, cover the pan with a lid and cook the meat over high heat for another 2.5-3 minutes.

9. Then turn the pieces over, cover the pan again with a lid and cook for another 2.5-4 minutes. During this time, the sauce flavors the meat, boils down and thickens. The main indicator of readiness is a lot of small bubbles on the surface of the boiling sauce.

10. Turn off the heat, scoop a little sauce with a spoon and pour over the pieces of meat. Add 2-3 pinches of finely chopped green onions to the pan and let the meat sit a little longer while you plate.

11. Place a portion of rice in a deep bowl. Add 1-3 lettuce leaves, cut into thin strips.

12. Cut each piece of meat into strips about 1 cm wide and place on top of the salad.

13. Pour the sauce over the meat, sprinkle with a pinch of green onions and/or fried sesame seeds if desired, and serve the dish. Donburi with pork in teriyaki sauce is ready.