Rice Cooked with Iwashita's Shin-Shoga, Pickling Liquid and All: Ryuji Tries It with Pork Loin

According to Ryuji, most people eat Iwashita's Shin-Shoga as is. Some put it in tartar sauce in place of pickles. Ryuji's own favorite is the recipe on the back of the package, where the ginger is wrapped in pork and pan-fried. But doing that would be "ripping off Iwashita's Shin-Shoga too much," so this time they chose a different way to eat it: "refreshing takikomi gohan." Ryuji explains that the pink color gives it a springlike look.

The other ingredients are mushrooms and pork loin. Any mushrooms you like will do; this time Ryuji uses oyster mushrooms. For the pork, they use about two slices of loin with a line of sinew through the middle. Ryuji recommends pork shoulder loin as delicious, but says regular loin is fine too.

The recipe uses 2 rice-cooker cups of rice, or 300 g. Ryuji explains that the rice absorbs water during the first wash. Wash it about twice, and let it soak up as much water as possible while you prepare everything else.

Ryuji says they chose loin because fatty pork belly would be too heavy combined with ginger. Later, however, they add that thinly sliced pork works too, and that belly is also delicious if you like fatty meat.

While cooking, Ryuji shares something they heard about Iwashita's Shin-Shoga. The product deliberately uses Taiwanese ginger, because Taiwanese ginger is the tastiest. It's not a case of domestic always being better; in fact, eating Taiwanese ginger is what inspired the product in the first place, and the company is apparently very particular about it, Ryuji relates.

When the staff tried it, their reaction was that it has umami and isn't sweet. Ryuji explains that because it's Taiwanese ginger, it has quite a bit of heat. Someone wondered whether the heat would disappear once it's cooked into the rice, but Ryuji answered, "Actually, the heat stays." Most of the staff apparently don't usually eat this product, and it's treated as a food with a devoted fan base.

About two small pieces of young ginger are cooked into the rice so the ginger aroma transfers to it. A separate portion is chopped for topping. Julienning works best, since it blends better with the rice. If you buy the sliced version, you can use it as is. A staff member added that a julienned version is also sold. Ryuji says the leftover large piece can be used for snacks or the like.

The most important point in the seasoning, according to Ryuji, is to use the pink pickling liquid. They add 5 tablespoons and say, "This is what makes it good." The pickling liquid alone isn't flavorful enough, so they add 2½ teaspoons of kombu dashi powder (one stick) and 2 pinches of salt (which Ryuji corrects to about 1/3 teaspoon). That settles the seasoning. Abura-age (fried tofu) would also be delicious, but this time they wanted vegetables, so they went with mushrooms.

Add the water before the mushrooms, and adjust the amount at this stage. The guideline is slightly below the line for 2 cups of white rice on the rice cooker. Then add the oyster mushrooms. Shimeji mushrooms are also delicious, but Ryuji recommends oyster mushrooms for takikomi gohan because they add texture.

These oyster mushrooms were apparently developed for takikomi gohan together with someone Ryuji calls "the Professor." When a staff member said they'd been seeing them at supermarkets a lot lately, Ryuji joked that the factory can't keep up even running at full capacity, that they sold so well they went out of stock, and that the producer told them, "Please give us a break." Two pieces' worth of julienned young ginger is scattered over the mushrooms.

The two slices of pork loin weigh about 260 g. To keep them from shrinking, the sinew is cut. Ryuji used a sinew-cutting tool sold in their own shop, but explains that if you don't have one, you can cut the sinew at the border between fat and lean meat with scissors. The pork is placed whole, uncut, on top of the rice and cooked.

Ryuji loves takikomi gohan and makes many kinds, and says this pork loin version is extremely good. But with pork alone, the pork flavor becomes too strong, so pairing it with the refreshing aroma of young ginger improves it, in Ryuji's view. You can vary the ingredients, for example by adding carrots or bamboo shoots. Ryuji says that with Iwashita's Shin-Shoga and pork, the pork fat spreads through the rice just enough to make it delicious. That's all there is to the process, and it's easy, Ryuji emphasizes.

While waiting for the rice to cook, they make a snack using the young ginger. According to Ryuji, young ginger pairs very well with eggs. Crack 3 eggs into a container, break up the whites a little, and poke a few holes with something like a toothpick. Cover and microwave for about 2½ to 3 minutes to make a kind of mock hard-boiled egg. Ryuji points out the advantages: no need to chop with a knife or boil water in a pot.

One piece of young ginger is finely minced. When a staff member asked whether ginger looks like this, Ryuji answered that it might be a feature of Iwashita's Shin-Shoga, and that regular young ginger is much bigger. The eggs came out of the microwave firmly set. The young ginger and about 2½ tablespoons of mayonnaise are added to the broken-up eggs to bind everything together. Ryuji stresses that you should always taste it, and this time added a little Aji-Shio. The aroma and heat of the young ginger bring out the flavor. Ryuji says it would also work as an egg sandwich.

In the tasting, the crisp, crunchy texture of the young ginger was praised. Ryuji recommends putting it on meat or using it as a tartar sauce. When a staff member said they'd like to put it on a green salad, Ryuji agreed that would be good too.

The cooked pork was so tender the knife slid right through. Ryuji explains that using shoulder loin makes it come out tender. When a staff member checked whether any oil had been added, Ryuji said no oil was used, only the pork's own fat. Cut the pork into whatever size you like and mix it into the rice.

Since the flavor comes only from kombu dashi and young ginger, Ryuji expected it to taste refreshing. After plating, it's finished with chopped raw young ginger on top. The idea is that the flavor of fresh young ginger should be there too.

The staff who tasted it said the ginger flavor comes through clearly even after cooking. Another reaction was that the heat and texture were still there. Someone also commented that it was light and easy to eat. Ryuji says it's healthy because no oil is used, and nutritionally good because it contains meat and vegetables. Ryuji estimates it makes about 3 to 4 servings.

To change up the flavor, they added "Remosco," which Ryuji has been hooked on lately. It's a seasoning from Hiroshima made with Setouchi lemons. Ryuji recommends it because the acidity and heat go well together, and a staff member reacted, "I can't stop." Another staff member said they were surprised the pickling liquid gave it this much flavor, and Ryuji responded that the pickling liquid also has umami and is a great product you can apply to cooking. Someone also suggested it might work as ochazuke with dashi poured over it.

One staff member said they had thought young ginger wouldn't really appeal to them, but it turned out to be surprisingly light and easy to eat. Ryuji thinks that since it has no strong quirks, it will resonate with a lot of people. Ryuji says they have several unpublished recipes using Iwashita's Shin-Shoga, but the takikomi gohan is the best.

Asked whether chicken would work, Ryuji said chicken is delicious too. But they had never tried cooking thick tonkatsu-cut pork into rice, so they thought this time it was a good choice, Ryuji explains. The tasters' conclusion was that it might look plain, but don't be fooled: the flavor packs a punch.

The end is casual chat. A staff member pointed out that Ryuji is constantly tidying up and wandering around outside the camera frame. Ryuji says that they used to have a habit of walking in circles while waiting for elevators and that people often mentioned it, but that they're careful about it now. Ryuji's leg-jiggling is also quite intense, and people sometimes ask if they're angry, but it actually comes out when they're relaxed. The video ends with Ryuji saying a friend's mother once told them off for it.