Editor’s note: The theme of Gohan Lab is to help people make simple, tasty “gohan” (meals).

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To cap the series on spices, we will focus on one of the most popular home cooking dishes seasoned with ginger.

To make the most of the refreshing aroma and spiciness of ginger, the first thing to think about is when to bring the meat and the sauce together.

Some recipes call for rubbing the sauce into the meat before cooking, while others opt to coat the meat afterward. To enjoy both the aroma of freshly grated ginger and the roasted smell that rises when heated, we decided to split the sauce and apply it before and after cooking.

Other key factors are which cut to use and how thick the slices should be.

Perhaps you have pan-fried meat only to find that it turned out dry and hard. This is solved by using thin slices of shoulder meat.

Unlike the loin where the fat and lean meat are segmented, shoulder meat is fairly marbled and turns out smooth in texture. Thin slices are easier to cook than thicker ones that are sold under the label “For ‘shogayaki’ (ginger pork).”

The sauce is seasoned in such a way that it tastes just right when the pork slices are wrapped around the shredded cabbage and eaten together. The dish goes well with rice and beer.

DIFFERENT USES FOR ‘ROOT’ AND ‘NEW’ TYPES OF GINGER

In Japan, ginger is grown on the largest scale in Kochi Prefecture. According to JA Kochi, an arm of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives, “root ginger” (“ne-shoga”) is grown in open fields while the “newly-harvested ginger” (“shin-shoga”) is cultivated in greenhouses. Although they are of the same variety, the savoriness and uses differ depending on how they are grown.

Root ginger is quite pungent and is suited for use by grating. It is harvested in autumn, stored and shipped throughout the year.

The greenhouse-grown new ginger of Kochi is gathered from March through September. Being less pungent and soft, it is suitable for salads and pickles.

Since root ginger is ill-suited for long storage in the fridge, it should be frozen after being grated or chopped up. New ginger should be placed in a plastic bag, stored in the vegetable compartment of the fridge and used up in good time.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

(Supervised by Akiko Watanabe in the cooking aspect and Midori Kasai in the cookery science aspect)

* Ingredients (Serves two)

200 grams pork shoulder (katarosu) slices, 1 piece (15 grams) ginger (1 Tbsp when grated), 1 and 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 and 1/2 Tbsp sweet mirin sake, 1 tsp oil, 2 cabbage leaves (100 grams)

About 335 kcal and 1.8 grams salt per portion

1. Cut cabbage into fine strips and immerse in water. Drain on sieve and serve on plate.

2. Wash skin of ginger thoroughly and grate unpeeled (PHOTO A). It looks nicer when ginger is grated at 90 degrees against fiber (so that the stripes on skin appear horizontal). If you grate in the wrong way, the ginger will turn out like waste thread.

3. Mix soy sauce and sweet mirin sake in bowl, add ginger to make sauce. Spread slices on flat container, pour half of sauce and pat in (PHOTO B).

4. Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat, add pork and cook (PHOTO C). When it browns, turn. When both sides are cooked, pour the remaining sauce in circular motion and turn off heat. Serve and pour roast juice on top.

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Akiko Watanabe is a cooking expert specializing in Japanese cuisine.

Midori Kasai is a professor at Ochanomizu University and chairwoman of the Japan Society of Cookery Science.

ARRANGED VERSION

Ginger-flavored eggplant

The ingredients for two portions are 3 eggplants and 1 Tbsp each of soy sauce, sweet mirin sake and grated ginger for the sauce.

Cut off calyx from the eggplants and cut lengthwise into three slices. Make angled lattice-like incisions 1 cm apart on the cut surface of the slices. Make incisions on one of the sides of the center slice. Immerse in water.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in frying pan. Pat eggplant dry, place in the pan the lattice side down. Cook for about two minutes on low heat with lid and turn when the side is brown.

Add 1/2 Tbsp oil and cook for about two more minutes. Pour in sauce in circular motion, stir-fry for a moment and turn off heat.

COOKERY SCIENCE

When to add the spices depends on their shape and purpose. Use the powder type for brief preparation of the ingredients. When adding the flavor during cooking, use the whole type so that the aroma and pungent element seep into the liquid. Since the components of chopped or powdered spices transfer quickly to the dish, the savoriness will stand out when added as a finishing touch.

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Gohan Lab column