Japanese braised pork belly

Posted by spots (Singapore, Singapore) on 25 May 2006 in Food & Cuisine and Portfolio.

The other dish I promised to share the recipe of is Buta Kaku-ni, Japanese stewed pork. This recipe is adapted from my trusty Izakaya recipe book and was first used by my Husband last week - here we go!

Japanese stewed pork (adapted from Tapas from Japan, Popular Izakaya recipes)

800g pork belly *

8 cups water

1/2 cup sake

1 stalk green onion

1 thumb ginger, sliced

3 1/2 tb sugar

1/2 cup mirin

1/2 cup soya sauce

* The amount of pork belly can be adjusted depending on how many people you are serving. This amount should serve 4 people. If you cook more or less pork belly, I'd suggest to keep to the quantities of the other ingredients, as they make up a yummy sauce in the proportions given.

1. Cut pork into 5 cm (2 inch) chunks.^ In a pot, bring water to boil and add pork. Return to boil, removing any "scum" which floats up to the surface.

2. Add sake, green onion, and ginger to the pot. Simmer for about 2 hours, uncovered, removing "scum" frequently.

3. When liquid has decreased to the level of the meat, i.e., the surface of the meat is showing, add sugar and mirin. Cover and simmer a further 30 minutes.

4. Finally, add soya sauce, cover, and cook another 30 minutes. Serve!

^ The recipe calls for each pork cube to be tied like a parcel, using a cotton thread. Although we did this step, in retrospect, I think it may not be necessary, so I didn't include it in the recipe steps above.

^^ The recipe also gives the reason for adding the seasonings in a staggered fashion, instead of all at once in the beginning. Apparently, the ingredients become tender first and more easily absorb flavours ?! Apparently, we should always add sugar, then mirin, and lastly soya sauce, in that order, for any braised dish that requires these seasonings ?!