Go Back
Japanese pork and vegetable sweet-and-sour stir-fry — buta amazu itame — served on a rustic blue-rimmed Portuguese ceramic plate, glossy with sauce and full of julienned carrot, onion, and green pepper

Buta to Yasai no Amazu Itame (Japanese Sweet-and-Sour Pork & Vegetable Stir-Fry)

Thin-sliced pork dusted with potato starch and stir-fried with carrot, onion, and green pepper in a glossy soy-and-rice-vinegar sweet-and-sour glaze. A 15-minute Japanese home-cooking weeknight standard.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g thinly sliced pork komagire or any thin-sliced pork
  • 1 tbsp potato starch (katakuriko) for dusting
  • 1/2 onion thinly sliced (about 100g)
  • 1/2 medium carrot julienned (about 60g)
  • 1 green pepper thinly sliced (about 50g)
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp garlic paste or 1 minced clove
  • 2 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar for sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce for sauce
  • 1 tbsp sake for sauce
  • 1 tbsp mirin for sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar for sauce
  • white sesame seeds to finish (optional)

Method
 

  1. Slice the onion thinly, julienne the carrot, and slice the green pepper into thin strips. Optionally microwave the carrot for 3 minutes at 600W to soften. In a small bowl, mix the sauce: sugar, soy sauce, sake, mirin, and rice vinegar.
  2. Lay the pork on a plate and dust evenly with potato starch, tossing so every piece gets a light coating.
  3. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic paste, then the pork. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until about 90% cooked through.
  4. Add the carrot, onion, and pepper. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the vegetables soften and any extra moisture cooks off.
  5. Lower heat to medium-low. Pour in the premixed sauce and toss for 1–2 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly and clings to everything in a glossy glaze.
  6. Plate immediately, sprinkle with white sesame seeds, and serve hot over steamed rice.