With sweet soy sauce, zingy ginger, and just enough chili heat to keep things exciting, this pork is here to remind you that food should be fun. Bonus: it’s ridiculously easy to make.
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1.5 lbs ground pork
3 tbsp soy sauce
1.5 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp avocado oil
2 stalks green onions, sliced
0.5 tsp red chili flakes
Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Wait for it to shimmer like it’s ready to party.
Add the ground pork and let it sizzle. Break it up with a spatula and cook until it’s golden and slightly crispy.
Toss in the garlic and ginger. Stir until your kitchen smells like heaven—about 1 minute.
Drizzle in the soy sauce and sprinkle the brown sugar. Stir vigorously to coat every bit of pork in that sweet-savory goodness.
Sprinkle the red chili flakes and half of the green onions. Mix it all together for one last flavor boost.
Remove the skillet from heat. Garnish with the remaining green onions and let it rest for a hot second before building your taco.
Chef's Notes
This draws inspiration from Japanese shogayaki (ginger pork), a home cooking staple that's been making weeknight dinners excellent for generations. The combination of soy sauce, fresh ginger, and a touch of sweetness creates that irresistible sweet-salty-zingy glaze that coats every piece of pork. Fresh ginger is non-negotiable here. Powdered ginger tastes flat and dusty; fresh ginger has brightness and heat that dried simply can't deliver. Use a Microplane to grate it into a paste for even distribution, or mince it finely. The skin is edible if it's young ginger; older ginger has tougher skin you'll want to peel first. Good soy sauce matters more than you think. Kikkoman is a reliable baseline; if you can find Japanese soy sauce (shoyu) like Yamasa or San-J, the flavor is cleaner and more nuanced. A splash of mirin (sweet rice wine) adds complexity; if you don't have it, a pinch of sugar works in a pinch. Rice vinegar at the end brightens everything and prevents the dish from feeling heavy. Just a tablespoon transforms the sauce from one-note to balanced. This is supremely weeknight-friendly: 15 minutes start to finish, minimal prep, ingredients you can keep on hand. Some dishes earn their place through complexity. This one earns its place through reliability and the way it consistently makes dinner feel worthwhile.
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