Miso-Marinated Grilled Pork (豚の味噌漬け焼き, Buta no Misozuke-yaki)

Pork loin is not a glamorous cut. Good. It has enough firmness to stand up to miso, and enough plainness to let the seasoning show its work. In this dish, the marinade doesn't hide the pork. It teaches it manners.

Buta no misozuke-yaki is simpler than people make it sound: bury pork in a sweet miso bed, leave it overnight, wipe it clean, then grill it gently. The miso seasons, firms, and deepens the meat while the mirin and sake soften the salt. The danger is not the marinating. The danger is impatience at the grill.

Miso burns before pork finishes cooking, so we wipe the surface nearly clean. That isn't fussiness. It's the difference between a lacquered brown chop and a bitter black one, and no sauce should be asked to apologize for that. Cook it over medium heat, let the color come slowly, and you'll see why misozuke has long been a sensible make-ahead method: yesterday's work becomes tonight's calm.

Serve it with rice, a sharp mound of grated daikon, and one green vegetable. In the rhythm of a Japanese meal it sits as the main dish, rich but not heavy, with the plate left open around it. Leave it room. The pork has been waiting all night, and it doesn't need a crowd.