Urakami Soboro (Pork and Burdock Stir-Fry)

Quick answer

Total time: 43 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients: 13

About this dish

Urakami soboro is a home-style dish from the Urakami area of Nagasaki City.

Thick strips of pork belly are stir-fried with fried fish cake, konnyaku, bean sprouts, carrot, burdock, and shiitake, then briefly simmered in shiitake soaking liquid with light soy sauce, sugar, and sake. Despite soboro in the name, no minced meat is used; the ingredients are cut into sturdy strips. A local account traces it to Portuguese missionaries in the late sixteenth century, followed by a household style that reduced the pork and increased the vegetables. Bean sprouts and blanched green beans go in last to keep their bite and color.

Ingredients (2 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
thinly sliced pork belly	50	g
fried fish cake	20	g
konnyaku	50	g
bean sprouts	100	g
carrot	15	g
burdock root	25	g
dried shiitake	6	g
shiitake soaking liquid	50	ml
green beans	10	g
neutral cooking oil	2	tsp
light soy sauce	1	tbsp
sugar	2	tsp
sake	1	tbsp

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Prep

Soak 6g dried shiitake in 150ml lukewarm water for 20 minutes until soft.

Squeeze the mushrooms, remove stems, and cut into 4mm strips. Pass the soaking water through a coffee filter or fine sieve and measure exactly 50ml.
2

Prep

Cut 50g pork belly, 20g fried fish cake, 50g konnyaku, and 15g carrot into sturdy 5cm strips.

Shave 25g burdock as if sharpening a pencil, soak in cold water for 5 minutes, and drain. Rinse 100g bean sprouts and shake them dry.
3

Control

Parboil the konnyaku for 2 minutes to reduce its odor and drain.

In the same boiling water, blanch 10g green beans for 90 seconds until bright green, cool in cold water, pat dry, and slice diagonally 4mm wide.
4

Control

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan over medium heat and spread the pork belly without overlapping.

Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes. When no pink remains and the thickest strip reaches at least 63°C, add fish cake, konnyaku, carrot, burdock, and shiitake and cook for 4 minutes more.
5

Control

Pour in 50ml shiitake soaking liquid, scrape the pan bottom to release browned flavor, and bring to a boil.

Add 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon sake, stir, and simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes.
6

Control

Add the bean sprouts and toss over medium-high heat for only 90 seconds.

When slightly wilted but still crisp and a little liquid remains, divide between two bowls and scatter the blanched sliced green beans evenly over the top.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: All ingredients cut into strips with no minced meat
Finish cue: Soak 6g dried shiitake in 150ml lukewarm water for 20 minutes until soft.