RECIPE: Boiled Pork and Broccoli with Umeboshi Paste

Quick, easy, and healthy! This pork broccoli dish with umeboshi sauce is both savoury and refreshing! You can enjoy it as a nutritious meal or serve it on the side as a filling salad. This hearty, umami-packed plate will be sure to satisfy your taste buds!

This dish can be easily prepared in 10 minutes. Simply boil broccoli and pork. Then, combine the sauce ingredients and pour it over the vegetable mixture. Lastly, sprinkle over sesame seeds or chili pepper to taste. You can also take this sauce and switch up the ingredients with your favourite vegetables and protein!

This umeboshi based sauce combines soy sauce, dashi powder, mirin, and sesame oil. Dashi powder is made from dried tuna and is foundational to Japanese cuisine. It’s the backbone of umami, and it will give your sauce deep and rich flavour. Combine this with the tart umeboshi paste, and you have a savoury and tangy sauce to complement your meal!

What is Umeboshi Paste?

Umeboshi paste is a tart, pickled ume (Japanese plum fruit) puree. In Japan, the ume fruit is commonly pickled with salt to make umeboshi. The natural ume fruit flavour then becomes extremely concentrated and flavourful. Umeboshi is a complex, umami-rich combination of extremely sweet, salty, sour, and savoury. It's commonly mixed with katsuobushi (smoked tuna) and honey, adding a smoky depth and sweetness to the pickled fruit! In this form, umeboshi is enjoyed with plain rice, as a garnish, and in sauces.

As a paste, umeboshi is pureed with shiso (perilla) leaves and salt. This condiment is easily spreadable and can be mixed to make sauces or put on top of plain rice!

Ingredients:

• 1 serving of broccoli (chopped)
• 200g sliced pork
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp sake

• 3-4 tbsp umeboshi paste
• 1 tbsp soy sauce* 
• 1 tbsp soda bushi dashi powder* 
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1-2 tbsp sesame oil

*Available in our Creative Beginnings Redefining “Wa” Care Package

• Sesame seeds
• Shredded chili pepper

Instructions:

1. Boil water in a pot and add the broccoli. Remove and strain once cooked. 
2. Cut pork into 3cm pieces.
3. Boil another pot of water, add salt, sake and pork. Remove and strain once cooked the pork is cooked then rinse with water.
4. In a side bowl, mix all the ingredients to make the sauce. Add the boiled broccoli and pork. Mix again o the the broccoli and pork are coated in the sauce,
5. Plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds or top with shredded chili pepper.

Introduction courtesy of Tiffany Furukawa

Tiffany spent her childhood exploring Japanese food in the suburbs of Tokyo and helping her Obaachan (grandmother) in the kitchen. These experiences nurtured her passion for food and she is now studying environmental sustainability and food sciences at university. In her free time, Tiffany loves discovering hidden restaurants in Japan, trying out new recipes in the kitchen, and going on runs!