Butadon (Japanese Pork Rice Bowl)
Butadon is a Japanese rice bowl made by pan-frying thinly sliced pork in a sweet-savory soy sauce glaze and piling it over rice. Pork shoulder is the classic cut, but shabu-shabu-style thin belly slices soak up the sauce faster and cook in no time. With just a handful of ingredients, it's an easy one-bowl meal even beginner cooks can pull off.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Shabu-shabu-style pork belly200 g
- Onion1/2
- Egg yolk1
- Sugar (for frying the pork)1 tbsp
Sauce
- Soy sauce1.5 tbsp
- Mirin1 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Minced garlic1 tsp
Directions
- 1
Slice half an onion into thin strips. Butadon only needs one vegetable, so prep is quick and simple.
- 2
Make the sauce: combine 1.5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp minced garlic, then stir well. Ginger is sometimes used instead of garlic — feel free to swap it in if you have it.
- 3
Add 200 g of the sliced pork belly to a hot pan along with 1 tbsp of sugar, and stir-fry.
- 4
Once the sugar has dissolved, add the onion along with the sauce you made earlier.
- 5
I prefer the pork with less liquid left and a bit of a crisp finish, so I cook it a little longer. If you like more sauce remaining, just adjust the cooking time to your taste.
- 6
Once the pork is fully cooked, pile it appetizingly on top of a bowl of rice.
- 7
Finally, top the center with 1 egg yolk. If raw egg isn't your thing, a fried egg works just as well instead.
- 8
Sprinkle on some parsley flakes and your butadon is ready. It's simpler to make than you'd expect, and true to its Japanese roots, it's mild rather than intense — the sweet-savory pork pairs beautifully with the rich, mellow yolk.
Tips
If you like more sauce remaining, cook it for a shorter time; if you prefer a crispier texture, cook it a bit longer. If raw egg isn't for you, a fried egg works just as well instead.