Yakibuta in White Sauce

Sorry about not posting as soon as I said I would. I got a bit distracted by Thanksgiving! And today's recipe is not daikon soup nor nabe, but something I whipped up over the weekend, when we had some yakibuta (roasted pork) that needed to be used up. This pork was already sliced and was ready-to-use, and also near it's expiration date, when my husband bought it. I'm not exactly sure what it's for, though I would guess for ramen topping, but I suppose you could also add it to salad or soup. Anyway, I have been a bit homesick and when I saw this, I thought I could try a version of chipped beef on toast. Dried beef is not something I have seen in Japan, but there's plenty of yakibuta around.

Basically, this is just chopped, cooked meat tossed into a white sauce, then served over toasted bread. You can also use cooked hamburger (or, what I usually use here in Japan, a mix of ground beef and ground pork). If you've never made white sauce before, it's pretty easy:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
warm milk

Melt butter in a medium-sized pot. Add flour and salt, and combine with a whisk. Cook for a minute or so, then add 1/2 cup milk. Whisk continuously to prevent lumps. Add a bit more milk, maybe another cup or so. Stir with the whisk until the mixture starts to boil. You can add more milk, but be careful not to add too much, or it will not be thick enough (or, it will just take longer for it to cook in order to thicken the sauce). When it begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer as it thickens.

When the white sauce has reached the desired consistency, add the meat, and allow it to warm through. Serve the sauce over toasted bread (I usually use sandwich bread, but any bread will do), or be adventurous and serve it over rice! Season with salt and pepper if desired.