These asparagus pork rolls are made by wrapping thin asparagus with shabu shabu pork, pan-fried till golden and finally glazed with an easy homemade teriyaki sauce. Add a seaweed soup to complete the meal.
I’ve previously shared these asparagus pork rolls on my Instagram (@foodiebaker). But I recently remade them with step-by-step photos and decided to document the recipe here for ease of reference. It’s definitely easier to search the blog than trying to scroll through looking for old Instagram posts.
I was inspired to make this when I first saw a YouTuber making pork rolls using zucchini. I replaced the zucchini with baby asparagus so there’s lesser chopping involved. Baby asparagus are also known as fine asparagus in supermarkets in Singapore. Basically you want the thin variety so that they cook faster.
The teriyaki sauce is a made using soy sauce, honey, mirin, sake and water in equal ratio. I added just a little bit of sesame oil for that sesame flavour but it’s completely optional.
I love these asparagus pork rolls as they combine meat and vegetable in one dish. All I have to do is whip up a soup or an egg-based dish and I’ll have a complete meal!
Step-by-Step Photos | |
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| 1) Lay pork shabu in a single layer and season lightly with salt and black pepper. | 2) Place one to two asparagus at one end of the pork shabu. |
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| 3) Roll it up as tightly as you can. As pork shabu is thin, the meat will stick to itself, no toothpick is required to seal the meat. | 4) Repeat until all the pork/asapargus are used up. |
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| 5) Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. If your pork shabu is not fatty, add in a little oil. Add in the rolls in a single layer. | 6) Pan-fry until golden. The rolls don't have to cook through as you will simmer them in the sauce later. |
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| 7) My fatty pork shabu rendered a lot of oil during cooking. Remove excess oil with paper towels. | 8) While the rolls are cooking, mix the sauce ingredients together. |
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| 9) Once all the rolls are browned, turn the heat down to low and pour in the sauce and bring to a simmer. | 10) Add in the rolls and simmer in the sauce until i) pork is cooked through; ii) asparagus is tender; and iii) sauce has thickened. |
Asparagus Pork Rolls
INGREDIENTS
- 250 grams baby asparagus, ends trimmed off
- 200 grams pork shabu, thawed
Easy Teriyaki Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Lay pork shabu in a single layer on a chopping board. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. Place one to two asparagus on each pork and roll it up as tightly as you can. As pork shabu is thin, it will naturally stick to itself so there's no need to skewer it sealed with toothpicks.
- Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. If your pork shabu is not very fatty, you can add a little bit of oil. I don't for mine as it will render fat on its own. Place the rolls in a single layer and cook until browned, about 1 minute. Flip and cook the other side until browned, another 1 minute. Remove from the pan and set aside. (The rolls don't have to be fully cooked as they will cook again in the sauce later on). Repeat until all rolls are browned, draining off excess oil as you cook.
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Reduce the heat to low and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer (it's almost immediate as the pan would be very hot). Return the rolls and any leftover pork shabu or asparagus into the sauce and simmer, turning the rolls frequently, until the rolls are cooked and the sauce has thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer the rolls onto a serving plate and pour over the sauce. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and serve.
NOTES
- Baby asparagus is recommended as it cooks through faster than regular asparagus.
- Either pork collar shabu or pork belly shabu can be used. I personally prefer pork collar shabu as it’s slightly less fatty. Do use a good-quality pork shabu (I like iberico or kurobuta) with fats for tenderness and flavour.
- I usually do a rough count of how many pork shabu and baby asparagus I have to determine whether to wrap one or two asparagus per pork shabu.
- The sauce can be doubled if you like more sauce.
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