One of my favorite izakaya skewer restaurants specializes in pork veggie rolls, like okra pork rolls. Each maki is stacked on a wood skewer and grilled over a long yakitori grill. Chi Chi and I have spent countless evening at this izakaya restaurant, but I can tell you that I think our homemade okra pork rolls are even tastier than our favorite izakaya restaurant’s version.

Okra-pork rolls make a quick and easy appetizer

Okra-pork rolls are a quick and easy appetizer for game night, great for barbecues with friends, or as a side dish to that pairs nicely with yaki onigiri (grilled rice ball) and miso soup. Japanese niku maki (meat rolls) are made with a thinly sliced pork that is about the same thickness as bacon. In addition to using okra, we often wrap veggies like cherry tomatoes, enoki mushrooms, carrots, and asparagus in niku maki, but my absolute favorite is okra niku maki.

Tasty okra-pork niku maki, a unique mouthfeel experience

Every bite of an okra-pork roll brings an explosion of different textures and flavors. The little seeds inside of the okra are perfect little pearls that burst open when you bite into them. The sticky jelly inside the okra keeps each bite moist. And, the outside of the okra, wrapped in a thin sliced pork, is crunchy and smoky. Honestly, nothing compares to okra-pork niku maki, it is a must have dish.

肉まき

Niku Maki: Meat Wrap

Izakaya style pork maki are easy to make

The Japanese love niku maki in many varieties and it is commonly eaten in an izakaya gastropub or a yakitori restaurant along with a nice glass of cold sake or an ice cold beer. Niku maki is also very easy to make at home in a skillet or on a grill. At our house, we make niku maki two different ways: with salt and pepper or with homemade teriyaki sauce. This recipe uses salt and pepper. If you have any left-over niku maki, they make great additions to bento box lunches for the next day.

Use thin-sliced “shabu shabu” pork or bacon to wrap okra

Thinly sliced pork can be found at any Japanese grocery store and is often advertised as “shabu shabu pork” (look for our recipe for shabu shabu soon). You won’t need much of the thin sliced pork as each strip of pork can be cut into two and about 1/2 pound of thin sliced pork will easily make 15-20 okra-pork rolls. If you cannot find shabu shabu thin sliced pork, you can use thin-slices of bacon, just omit any added salt from the recipe.

Tells us what you think of this recipe? Did you use okra or other veggies?

Okra Wrapped in Thin-Sliced Pork (Okra Niku Maki)

Recipe by BeckiCourse: Appetizers, Meat, Quick & Easy Meals, SidesCuisine: Japanese

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb shabu shabu thin sliced pork (or bacon)

• 15-20 whole okras

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Par boil okra for 3-5 minutes in boiling salt water. Remove and rinse in cold water.
• Cut the shabu shabu pork into 2 inch pieces. Wrap one okra at a time with one piece of thin-sliced pork. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If using bacon, however, do not sprinkle with salt!
• Heat your grill if grilling to a high heat, or if pan-frying heat a large skillet (preferably a cast iron skillet) to medium high heat. Place okra on grill or heated frying pan and let cook on one side 1-2 minutes then turn. Okra niku maki will grill quickly. It is ready once the pork wrap is browned and cooked through.
• Serve hot along side other appetizers like yaki onigiri, tsukune meatballs, and veggie crudités.