The Cat Dish
  • Musings
  • Food
  • #CatTravels
  • #BabyFox
  • #40trails
  • Videos
  • About Me
  • Contact

#WeekendDish: Okinawan shoyu pork

By Catherine Toth Fox • February 3, 2015 • Food, Weekend Dish

IMG_6536

I posted a photo on Instagram of Okinawan shoyu pork I had made in my crock pot.

A friend of mine (rightfully) commented, “What makes it Okinawan?”

That’s a good question, one I couldn’t answer. I have no idea.

All I know is the dish — called rafute (pronounced ra-foo-teh-) — is part of the food landscape in Okinawa. It’s made with pork belly, stewed or braised in shoyu and brown sugar. It’s supposed to help with longevity. (Okinawans are believed to have the highest life expectancy in the world.)

The only connection I see between this dish and Okinawa is the pork, a mainstay in the country’s diet. Interestingly enough, up until the 19th century and the introduction of pork and goat to the island, people here used to avoid eating meat. Now, pork is so much a part of Okinawan cuisine, it’s often said that “Okinawan cooking begins with the pig and ends with the pig.”

When the Okinawans immigrated to Hawai‘i more than a century ago, they must have brought along this dish, too.

As easy as this dish is to make, I’ve never actually tried to cook it, mostly because I’m not fond of chopping up large chunks of meat. (I’m a lazy cook, what can I say.) But I wanted to whip up something for Super Bowl Sunday that was quick, easy and would go great with a bowl of white rice.

Okinawan shoyu pork it was!

IMG_5775

There are tons of recipes online, most with the same key ingredients. Some recipes called for miso, others required garlic, still others used sake over mirin. (I used both.)

Most cooks also recommended trimming the fat from the pork butt before cooking it. I decided to leave the fat on, figuring it would only make the dish that much tastier. (And I was right.)

I also used a crock pot instead of a pressure cooker — too high-maintenance — or on a stovetop. I like the idea of combining all of the ingredients, dumping them into a slow cooker, and going on about my day without having to tend to it.

It’s one of those crowd-pleaser dishes. You really can’t go wrong.

*******

Here’s the recipe:

Okinawan Shoyu Pork
In a crock pot or slow cooker

Ingredients:

3-5 pounds of pork butt, chopped into 2- to 3-inch pieces
1 c. shoyu
1 c. brown sugar
1-2 c. water
1/2 c. mirin (sweet rice wine)
1/4 c. cooking sake
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 T. ginger, minced or grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small bowl combine the shoyu, mirin, sake, garlic, ginger, brown sugar and water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and set aside.

Butcher down your pork into pieces and place them into the crock pot. Pour the sauce over them. Set the slow cooker on low, cooking for about six to seven hours. (The pork will turn a very dark brown, but the pieces should be fork tender.)

Serve over rice.

cookingCrock PotHawaiiJapanlongevityOkinawaOkinawan shoyu porkpork bellyslow cookerWeekendDish
Tweet
7
5 Valentine's Days ideas for the adventurer
5 Qs with Fighting Eel's Rona Bennett

About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

You Might Also Like

  • #CatBakes: Super Easy Coffee Cake

  • Why I Decided To Go Vegan — Sort Of

  • I Really Do Eat For a Living

  • #CatTravels: Five days in Tokyo

7 Comments

  • Reply M February 4, 2015 at 6:32 am

    Hello Cat,
    Thanks for the recipe.

    • Reply Catherine Toth February 5, 2015 at 2:26 pm

      Anytime! You going to make it?

  • Reply Dennis February 4, 2015 at 7:17 am

    Wow! I love shoyu pork. Thanks for the recipe. Will try it this weekend. Thanks Cat!

    • Reply Catherine Toth February 5, 2015 at 2:26 pm

      Let me know how it turns out!

  • Reply Kyle February 4, 2015 at 9:37 am

    Hi Cat,

    Interestingly, after WWII, 2nd generation Okinawans from Hawaii played a huge roll in Okinawa’s pork diet.

    https://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2011/10/13/3245/

  • Reply Tom February 5, 2015 at 9:50 am

    Use the same recipe and replace the pork butt with cross cut pork spareribs (cut into 2 inch long bones and separated into two riblet pieces). Also very good.

    • Reply Catherine Toth February 5, 2015 at 2:25 pm

      Damn, that sounds good, too! Great idea!

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

Latest Posts

  • Anyone Else Feeling Like You’re Failing at This?

    March 8, 2022
  • It’s Hard To Say Goodbye—So I Won’t

    January 29, 2021
  • Was 2020 Really That Bad?

    December 31, 2020
  • Here’s What Happened To My Dog Indy

    December 10, 2020
  • I Did Noom For a Month and Here’s What Happened

    October 7, 2020

Made with in Seattle

© 2013 Solo Pine Designs, Inc. All rights reserved.