every now and then, i get a craving for this dish called “nikudon,” which is pan fried marinated pork slices on top of a bowl of white rice. to be precise, it should be called “buta (pork) don” instead of “niku (meat) don,” but it is just the way my mom always calls it for whatever reason.
i am not a big fan of meat dishes to be honest, but i do love this donburi dish. it has many elements of what i like in food. it provides you this tasty juice of the pork, mixed with the saltiness of soy sauce and a little sweetness from the mirin sauce and sugar, and then this meaty texture gets blended into the purity of freshly cooked rice and the crunchy, cold texture of the cabbage slices… oh heavenly.
the recipe below is how my mom prepares it. make sure to get the correct ratio in the marinade mixture!
mom’s nikudon (pork on rice)
ingredients (for 2 people):
200 – 250g pork slices (sliced just like bacon. better with some fatty part too)
2 tbsp of salad oil
1 tbsp of sugar
marinade:
1 tbsp of japanese sake (if you don’t have it, use white wine)
2 tbsp of soy sauce
3+ tbsp of mirin (if you don’t have it, use honey, but 2 tbsp only)
2 bowls of freshly cooked rice
2 – 3 leaves of fresh cabbage, thinly sliced and washed in cold water (drain the water thoroughly)
directions:
1) pour in the marinade mix into a medium sized bowl
2) place the pork slices into the marinade. leave them aside for 30 minutes or so
3) heat a medium to large sized frying pan in medium heat, pour in the oil, and place the pork slices into the pan (be careful not to put the heat too high, otherwise the oil gets splashed due to the marinade). you can put all the marinade in as well
4) cook the pork slices until the colour gets golden brown and the marinade juice thickens
5) sprinkle the sugar over the pork slices and mix one last time
6) put the rice in a bowl each
7) place the sliced cabbage on top
8) on top of 7), nicely place the pork slices
it satisfies your taste buds as well as your appetite! great food for kids too, as it’s very yummy and nutritious.
hope you’ll like it!
—————–
– if you like donburi dishes, here is a recipe for “tori-don” chicken donburi
and “oyakodon” chicken & egg donburi
– have a look at my dauaghter’s kindergarten nikudon bento
– here is another popular recipe, oshiruko (sweet red bean soup), from Small Tokyo Kitchen
SMALL TOKYO KITCHEN 
[…] adapted from a small tokyo kitchen […]
This recipe sounds good and I want to make it. I will have my son help me.
Thank you so much for your comment! It’s very easy and quick – make sure you don’t burn the sauce towards the end, as it tends to get cooked quickly after you sprinkle over the sugar. Enjoy!
[…] main (or side) dish, on top of rice. the most popular recipe here is my mum’s niku-don, which comes with stir-fried […]
[…] niku don, stir fried pork on rice, is the most popular recipes in this blog, and this is a miniature version of it. LO usually doesn’t eat so much meat but she loved this one! […]
[…] popular “niku don” […]
[…] I didn’t understand him, but then he told me that niku-jaga for him was like niku-don (pork on rice) for me, eating meat and staple at the same time and no need for another staple to be […]
[…] Niku-don, Hijiki, Tomato omelet, Steamed broccoli & potato, […]
[…] Yakiniku stir-fried pork slices (same recipe as nikudon pork, just not on rice), Spinach goma-ae, Kiriboshi daikon, Seared pumpkin, Cherry […]
[…] Nikudon, Coleslaw salad, Spinach goma-ae, Boiled egg, Cherry […]
[…] Nikudon (pork on rice), Simple omelet, Steamed broccoli, […]
[…] Nikudon (pork on rice), Hijiki, Boiled green beans, Boiled […]
[…] Chicken soboro & egg crumble donburi, Baba hamu kyuri, Okra mixed with sesame, “katsuobushi” bonito flakes & dashi […]
[…] Niku-don for bento, prepared according to my mum’s recipe. It’s one of my favorite dishes from my dear mother, and I believe so as my daughter’s. In the morning I packed the bento with care and love, picturing my daughter’s big smile as she opens the lid at school lunch time… […]
[…] Mum’s nikudon […]
[…] Nikudon (pork on rice), Boiled green beans, Steamed broccoli, Cherry […]
[…] Nikudon, pork on rice, is one of the most popular recipes in my blog. It is my mum’s recipe and was passed on to me and my sister before we “married out of the family”. I’m planning to pass it on to my little girl too, once she becomes old enough to be able to handle knives and gas stove. […]