Recipe: Japanese pork and veggie "ita-me-ni", a dish which is stir fried then boiled.

San Francisco's Japan Town's Nijiya has a special 20%-off-all-meat-day on the 29th of every month a.k.a. Meat day. "2-9" can also be read "ni-ku" which means "meat" in Japanese. 

On this day last month, I went a little crazy purchasing thin sliced pork and beef. Enough to last us a month. Today's dish uses thin sliced pork and any of your favourite vegetables. I used Japanese daikon, zucchini and onions since it's been in season at SF's farmers markets. 

This dish is a "ita-me-ni" (炒め煮) which means to stir fry and boil in liquid. In this case, we boil the ingredients in Japanese soy sauce, ginger, sugar, mirin and sake; a typical teriyaki type sauce. A typical Japanese dish which goes perfectly with rice and miso soup. With every bite, I was reminded of home. 

A similar dish I've posted earlier is the "Shoga-yaki"; pork ginger stir fry. Also a must try if you have thin sliced pork in your fridge. 


Ingredients:

• 0.5 lb thin sliced pork (200g)
• 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 - 2 tsp grated ginger

Steps:

1. On a heated pan with oil, toss in the meat (MEDIUM-HIGH heat)
2. Once the meat is mostly cooked, add the vegetables and stir fry them until cooked through.
3. Mix the ginger, soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar together and add into the pan. Put a lid on the pan and the heat down to LOW or MEDIUM. 
4. Boil until the sauce is absorbed by the ingredients. This helps the ingredients to suck up all the goodness. Once the liquid has disappeared, enjoy! 

P.S. Heart of the City Farmers Market


I just wanted to add a note about the wonderful experiences I've been having at one of San Francisco's Farmer's Markets. I go to Heart of the City Farmers Market in Civic Center every Sunday to get fresh vegetables and fruits. Today, I got 2 eggplants, 4 apricots, a bag of cucumbers, a bag of large green peppers, kabocha, strawberries, black berries and mini tomatoes for just......$10! 

Not only can you get fresh vegetables and fruits from farmers markets. You can also speak with the people who are responsible for the products and get advice from them; how to pick the best kinds and such. Highly recommended! 

Little food stands and trucks can be hidden gems as well.