35mFood Wars! (Shokugeki no Soma)
Soma's Gyūdon (Beef Bowl)
Comfort Food Mains · Easy
Soma's Gotcha Pork Roast
- Prep
- 30m
- Cook
- 50m
- Total
- 1h 20m
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Hard
Gotcha Pork Roast (なんちゃってローストポーク — literally "fake roast pork") is the dish that launched Food Wars. In Season 1 Episode 1, Soma cooks it at Yukihira to save the family restaurant when Yaeko Kurase trashes their meat — creamy mashed potato with sautéed onion and mushroom, rolled into a cylinder, wrapped in bacon, and roasted until the fat reads as pork. The Tōtsuki entrance exam is Episode 2 (Transforming Egg Furikake Gohan), not this dish.
The gotcha is visual and flavor — diners expect roast beast; they get potato genius. Long streaky bacon rashers are essential: as they bake, rendered fat penetrates the mash and the exterior turns crisp and golden, just like the anime cross-section.
Budget about 30 minutes active prep, 50 minutes of cooking with heat (boil, sauté, and a long bacon roast), plus 30 minutes hands-off chilling before wrapping. This is our most involved Food Wars recipe — read all steps first, but each stage on its own is straightforward home cooking.
Ingredients
Recipe ingredients
- 2 large
- Thick-Cut BaconKey12–16 long streaky rashers
to wrap the cylinder
- 2 tbsp
- 2 tbsp
Pantry staples
Salt, oil, butter, and other basics you likely already have — scaled with servings above.
- Potatoes · peeled and quartered800 g (4 medium russets)
- Waterenough to cover potatoes
- Kosher salt · potato boil + mashto taste
- Black pepperto taste
- Garlic · 1 for boil, 1 minced for sauté2 cloves
- Fresh rosemary · 1 for boil, 1 for garnish2 sprigs
- Unsalted butter · sauté, mash, and sauce4 tbsp
- Worcestershire sauce1 tbsp
- Yellow onion · finely diced1 small
- Whole milk · warmed with butter¼ cup
- Chicken stock powder · dissolved in warm milk1 tsp
- Gruyère & Parmesan · grated Parmesan (Gruyère also works)2 tbsp
- Dried parsley1 tsp
- Red wine · sauce½ cup
- Granulated sugar · sauce1 tbsp
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Instructions
- 1
Boil the potatoes
Peel and quarter 800 g starchy potatoes. Place in a pot, cover with cold salted water, add a few grinds of black pepper, 1 garlic clove, and 1 sprig fresh rosemary. Boil 15–20 minutes until a knife slides through easily. Drain and rest 3–4 minutes to steam off excess moisture.
- 2
Sauté onion and mushroom
Melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter in a skillet with 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Add 1 finely diced small onion; cook until slightly softened. Add 2 large king oyster mushrooms (diced) and 1 minced garlic clove. Cook until the onion is translucent; remove from heat.
- 3
Mash and enrich
Discard the rosemary and boiled garlic clove. Mash the potatoes until smooth. Warm ¼ cup whole milk with 1 tbsp unsalted butter and 1 tsp chicken stock powder; stir into the mash until creamy.
- 4
Combine the filling
Fold the onion-mushroom mixture into the mash with 2 tbsp grated Parmesan and 1 tsp dried parsley. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature.
- 5
Shape and chill
Spread the mash on plastic wrap and roll into a firm cylinder about 20 cm (8 in) long. Twist the ends and refrigerate at least 30 minutes until firm.
- 6
Wrap in bacon
Preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F). Unwrap the chilled cylinder and cover completely with 12–16 long streaky thick-cut bacon rashers, overlapping slightly. Secure with butcher's twine and top with a fresh rosemary sprig. Place on a parchment-lined roasting tray or oven-safe gratin dish.
- 7
Bake
Bake 35–45 minutes until the bacon is deep golden, the fat has rendered into the mash, and the outer rashers are crisp — thick overlapping bacon on chilled potato needs the full time. If the top is pale, broil 2–3 minutes watching closely. Rest 5 minutes off heat.
- 8
Make the red wine sauce
While the roast bakes, melt 1 tbsp unsalted butter in a small saucepan. Add ½ cup red wine, 2 tbsp Japanese dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp hon-mirin, and 1 tbsp granulated sugar. Simmer 3–4 minutes until slightly syrupy; keep warm.
- 9
The gotcha reveal
Remove the twine. Transfer to a serving platter, slice one end to expose the golden mash cross-section, and drizzle generously with red wine sauce. Serve immediately.
Pro tips
Use starchy russet potatoes and start them in cold salted water so the centers cook evenly. Drain well and let steam escape a few minutes before mashing — wet potato will not hold a cylinder. Chill the cylinder at least 30 minutes so it stays firm while you wrap bacon. Thick overlapping rashers need 35–45 minutes in the oven — finish under the broiler 2–3 minutes if the top needs extra color. Use the longest streaky rashers you can find for a cleaner spiral. Rest 5 minutes after baking before cutting the end for the reveal.
Storage & leftovers
Best served immediately after resting and saucing. Leftover slices keep 2 days refrigerated — re-crisp bacon in a 180°C (350°F) oven 8–10 minutes. The mashed-potato cylinder can be shaped and chilled up to 24 hours before wrapping and baking.
What to serve with
Steamed rice and shredded cabbage on the side — classic shokugeki plating. Spoon extra red wine sauce at the table.
Equipment
All kitchen equipment guidesFAQ
A fake roast Soma builds from mashed potato, onion, and mushroom wrapped in bacon — designed to taste like roast pork when real meat is unavailable. He serves it in Season 1 Episode 1 at Yukihira against Yaeko Kurase.
