Description: A popular Japanese izakaya dish. Simple and easy to cook, it gives a nice flavour of grilled meat and the sweetness of spring onion. You can just eat it with salt and pepper or you can dip them into mayonnaise, cream cheese or ponzu. It will be perfect as a canapé too. 
Serves: 26 pieces
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• Pork belly – chopped in 5mm width, 150g (I had 26 pieces)
• Spring onion – chopped in about 2 cm, 60g or 3 bunches
• Toothpick – 26 pieces
• Salt – 2 dashes
• Ground black pepper – 2 dashes

Method

1. Put one piece of meat and spring onion through a toothpick.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan, and add the skewers. Season the top side with 1 dash of salt and 1 dash of ground black pepper.
3. Turn them over and season the other side. Cook until they get brown.

To serve: You may sprinkle additional salt if needed and optionally cream cheese.

Kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs	Fibre	Sugars	Salt	Saturated Fat
185.6	3.5g	18.5g	0.9g	0.3g	0.3g	0.2g	6.8g
9.3%	7.1%	26.5%	0.4%	1.2%	0.3%	3.6%	33.8%

Nutritional Values Per Serving (6 pieces)

Nutritional Tips

ork is mainly made from mainly protein but also some part of the meat is made of a large amount of fat. Pork is generally rich in vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12, also a good source of phosphorus, zinc, and potassium. Cured pork products are very common (ham, bacon, and sausages), however, these products tend to contain a large amount of salt, saturated fat and preservatives. Therefore, it is important to consider what type of pork you are consuming. Lean pork contains less salt and fat, so you may consider adding it to your diet from time to time to achieve a healthier diet. Alternatively, you may cut the fat off before cooking and use less oil. In addition, roasting or grilling may be more beneficial than frying as you can use less oil and wash off the excess of oil while cooking. I believe making the right choices of food/cooking methods can help people to eat meat as part of a healthy, balanced diet although some meats are high in saturated fat, which can raise blood cholesterol levels. 

There is a study that dietary cholesterol has little or no effect on blood cholesterol levels in people (Eckel et al, Circulation, 2014 Jun 24;129(25 Suppl 2):S76-99 ). Instead, it is said that saturated fat actually affects the cholesterol in the blood (Keys et al, Cambridge Mass: Harvard University Press, 1980). 

It is important to cook long enough as undercooked or raw pork may contain parasites such as toxoplasma, and taenia solium. Having said that, overcooked meat may contain carcinogenic substances. Therefore, it is important to cook well enough but not too much.