Teriyaki Pork Belly Donburi Bowl
What is Teriyaki Donburi?
Teriyaki is a sweet, thick and sticky sauce made from soy, which is often paired with meat, fish or tofu. It can either be used as a glaze or for dishes like salmon, can be added afterwards for a sweet flavour boost.
Donburi is a type of rice bowl that’s been topped with meat, fish or vegetables. It’s a common dish in Japan and is extremely flexible, with hundreds of possible combinations.
Versatile Protein Choice
The joy of teriyaki is that once you’ve made the sauce, you can use it on a variety of proteins. Chicken is popular, but tofu, salmon and beef are all great options too.
This recipe utilises pork belly, for its rich and luxurious flavour, which pairs perfectly with a thick and sweet sauce. However, if you’re looking for a lower fat, healthier alternative, pork tenderloin would be the perfect substitution, simply slice it and fry before adding the sauce.
Teriyaki Sauce
Teriyaki sauce involves 4 crucial ingredients: soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake. These 4 ingredients form the base of a wide variety of Japanese meals, and can quickly become staples in your cupboard. This recipe includes garlic, ginger and sesame oil to expand the flavour profile of the sauce, but those 4 ingredients are essential for the base of the sauce.
Mirin has become much more widely available in larger UK supermarkets, and is usually available in Asian supermarkets. However, if your local shop doesn’t sell it, it is easy to order online. If you are unable to access sake, or would like a non-alcoholic option, you can simply use water instead.
Serving Teriyaki Donburi
For the rice we highly recommend using Japanese short-grain rice. If you can’t find anything labelled Japanese rice, anything labelled “sushi rice” or “sticky rice” will also work.
We love loading our donburi up with veg for added crunch and nutritional benefits. This recipe suggests tenderstem broccoli and pak choi as they pair well with the sweet teriyaki sauce, however, feel free to swap these out for your favourite vegetable options. A small salad of lettuce and cherry tomatoes would add freshness, or you can take the opportunity to use any left overs in your fridge.
For this recipe you will need a frying or sauté pan, and a saucepan to cook your rice.
Ingredients:
For the Meat and Veg
500g pork belly slices (skinless, sliced into thick strips)
2 Pak Choi sliced
200g tenderstem broccoli
1 tbsp vegetable oil
For the Teriyaki Sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin (rice wine)
1.5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sake
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tsp sesame oil
For serving
Sesame seeds
Sliced spring onions
Sticky white rice
Method
Place your rice into a pan with 3 parts water, to one part rice. Bring to the boil and leave to cook while you prepare the rest of the dish.
To make the sauce add the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, sake, ginger, garlic and sesame oil to a small bowl. Set to one side.
Cut your pork belly into bite-size slices. Place your frying pan on a medium-high heat. Add pork belly and cook for around 6-8 minutes, until browned and slightly crispy on the edges. If a lot of fat has rendered out, drain it, but make sure to leave a little for flavour.
While the pork cooks, prepare your vegetables. Chop the pak choi into thick slices. Trim off the ends from the tenderstem broccoli. Thinly slice spring onions and set aside.
Lower the heat to medium and pour in the teriyaki sauce mix, being careful to scrape in any sugar that hasn’t dissolved. Give a quick stir and leave to simmer. Excess moisture should cook out and, with the help of the sugar, it will turn in to a sticky glaze. You should be able to pull a spoon or spatula through it without the gap immediately filling in.
Stir to coat the pieces of pork and once they are covered in the sticky glaze, pour into bowls or straight on the rice if it’s ready.
Give the pan a quick wipe to clear away any remaining sauce and add oil. Add the broccoli first to give it a quick sear and then add the pak choi. Fry together for 3-5 minutes.
To Serve: Add rice to bowls and top with the pork and vegetables. Sprinkle over the spring onion and sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy!
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