"Addictive Pork" Made with Just Pork Offcuts and Onion: Ryuji's Steps for Making Cheap Meat Tender

The ingredients are 250g of pork offcuts, half an onion, and one large clove of garlic. The seasoning amounts are listed in the video description. While saying that new-season onions are fine to use, Ryuji stressed that the flavor changes completely depending on whether onion is included, so viewers should be sure to have some on hand.

The dish is also said to be well suited to packed lunches. Ryuji says that simply placing it on top of a layer of rice makes an easy bento.

Season the pork offcuts with salt and pepper, then coat them with about 2 tablespoons of potato starch. Next, add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of sake as a marinade, and massage it in so it coats everything evenly.

According to Ryuji, offcuts tend to turn tough and dry if stir-fried as they are. Adding the right amount of moisture with soy sauce and sake lets the potato starch coat the entire surface of the meat. With the starch covering it, the meat doesn't toughen and also gains a sense of volume. Ryuji calls it a "two birds with one stone" step that delivers both tenderness and volume.

Partway through the prep, Ryuji mentioned that this episode is sponsored. Ryuji says that receiving sponsorships is proof that the world still needs them, and that they are grateful for it. In an exchange with the staff, the conversation turned to the point that, since they operate as a company, YouTube revenue alone isn't enough to sustain them, so it's good to have sponsorships.

Ryuji says that society tends to regard not being attached to money as noble, but that you understand once you become a business owner. Their view is that a lack of money makes people unhappy, so a certain amount is necessary.

The garlic should cook through finely, so mince it fairly small.

The onion's role is to add sweetness. The tip Ryuji gave is to cut it perpendicular to the grain in 1cm-wide slices. Cut this way, the sweetness increases and the texture becomes soft rather than crisp, so the onion's sweetness comes through. Since the onion is treated as a main ingredient this time, quite thick slices are fine. Ryuji explains that the onion becomes an accent and also adds volume. This is the only step that uses a knife, and Ryuji emphasized, "Super easy, right?"

Mix the sauce ahead of time in a small bowl. Ryuji started to add soy sauce first, then stopped and corrected themselves, saying sugar should go in first. The reason given is that if sugar goes in after the soy sauce, it clumps together.

The proportions are as follows.

• Sugar, 1 teaspoon (for sweetness)
• Soy sauce, 2 teaspoons
• Oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons (adds umami; can be substituted with soy sauce if you don't have it)
• Ajinomoto, 3 shakes (adds depth, though Ryuji says it's tasty without it)
• Ketchup, 1 tablespoon

When a staff member asked, "Do you like dishes where ketchup is the main flavor?", Ryuji denied it. Because the oyster sauce and soy sauce come through strongly, ketchup doesn't become the dominant flavor. Rather, ketchup largely plays a role similar to sugar, and combined with soy sauce it tastes something like a light barbecue sauce. Ryuji says this goes well with rice.

This sauce can also be used with pork belly or chicken. However, Ryuji says that pork belly is expensive, and it's delicious enough with just salt and pepper that the sauce is almost unnecessary. If you use it, pork loin is a better match, and Ryuji positioned this recipe as one meant strictly for enjoying cheap pork offcuts deliciously.

You could make the sauce by pouring the seasonings directly into the frying pan. Even so, Ryuji has two reasons for recommending that beginners mix the sauce in advance. First, it's easy to get flustered while working over the heat. Second, pouring soy sauce and the like directly into a hot pan makes the liquid evaporate quickly. Ryuji says beginners are better off making the sauce first and adding it later, while experienced cooks can add the seasonings directly to the pan with no problem at all.

Use a small amount of oil, about 1 teaspoon. Ryuji says they have recently been frying garlic in less oil. Garlic tastes best when slightly browned, so cook it slowly. It's often said to start on low heat, but Ryuji added that since it starts bubbling right away, starting on medium heat is fine.

A staff member asked how to decide between browning the garlic and not browning it. Ryuji's answer: when you want garlic's distinctive toasty aroma, cook it until brown. When you want the fresh character of garlic, as in peperoncino, don't brown it. This time, the step is about infusing the dish with the aroma of browned garlic, and Ryuji says doing this makes a huge difference.

Once the garlic starts to take on color, add the pork while spreading it out. Spreading it out lets the whole surface sear, and if you add it quickly, the garlic won't burn too much. At this point, add 10g of butter. Once everything is mixed together, the garlic stops browning any further. Ryuji explains that this makes a stir-fry infused with the aroma of deeply toasted garlic, and the staff also reacted to the aroma.

Next, add the separated onion and stir-fry everything together. Ryuji says they haven't used this cut much before, and praised how it brings out the onion's presence as an ingredient and its sweetness. Ryuji says a single change in how you cut something can change a dish's flavor considerably, and wants viewers to experience that.

While stir-frying, Ryuji also shared thoughts about the channel. They want viewers to level up. They are able to make a living because people support them, and they want it to be the kind of channel where watching helps you gain cooking knowledge and practical life skills.

Now in their sixth or seventh year of activity, there were times Ryuji felt they had done it all. Even so, Ryuji says cooking is infinite, and they still want to keep sharing its deliciousness, its fun, and new methods. After this, a stretch of casual chat with the staff follows, including how energy runs high on shoots where they drink tequila.

When the edges of the meat are nicely browned and the onion has gone soft, add the sweet-and-savory sauce, coat everything, and it's done. Ryuji explained that since it's been seasoned with salt and pepper, it's already tasty at this stage, but this is where it becomes sweet and savory.

Ryuji described this dish as a "return to the roots," saying their old recipes were all dishes like this. As for the onion, Ryuji says the sweetness, soft yet with a slight crunch, is irresistible. Plate it and sprinkle with black pepper to taste. The only heat comes from this pepper, so as long as you don't overdo it, children can eat it too, and the whole family can enjoy it.

Ryuji jokingly looked back, saying they made it the way they did recipes about three years ago—that is, a style without idle chatter and without using any extra dishes. In reality there was plenty of chatting along the way, but that's how Ryuji put it.

Tasting it, Ryuji and the staff got excited, saying, "For the first time in a while, this has that Ryuji viral-recipe feel from back then." What Ryuji pointed to was how well the sauce comes together. Ryuji thought butter might not be needed with a sweet sauce, but says the faint butter aroma that comes at the end is very good. First comes the flavor of the sauce, then as you chew comes the umami of the meat, and finally the butter aroma lingers. Ryuji praised it as not being one-note.

To change up the flavor, add "Majisco," a Tabasco-style condiment Ryuji sells (or Tabasco if you don't have it). The staff member who tried it said the flavor became more complex.

When the staff were surprised at how tender the meat was, Ryuji explained again that it's because it was massaged with potato starch, sake, and soy sauce. That's about all the effort it takes, Ryuji says. Cooked normally, pork offcuts lose moisture and turn tough, and they tend to come out dry when made at home. Pork belly is delicious as is, but pork offcuts taste better when coated in starch so the moisture doesn't escape. Furthermore, the potato starch clinging to the meat holds onto the sauce. Ryuji pointed out that this is why no sauce is left at the bottom of the plate and the sauce coats each piece of meat.

The only ingredients used are onion and pork offcuts, and since the onion adds volume, it's also easy on the household budget, Ryuji and the staff say. They added the comparison that pork belly is expensive. Served as is, it makes a snack to go with drinks, and shoveled in with rice, it makes the ultimate rice dish.

As for the flavor, the staff described it as a taste you don't come across often. Ryuji explains the reason is that browned garlic is combined with a sauce made from a somewhat unexpected combination of oyster sauce, soy sauce, and ketchup.

Ryuji reflected that quick recipes like this have been lacking lately. Making something delicious without spending much effort or time is a skill in its own right, Ryuji says. With that, Ryuji urged viewers to try making this sweet-and-savory Addictive Pork with pork offcuts and onion, and closed the video.