This is a simple – but incredible – way to eat pork belly.
Perfect for a hungry family on the weekends – or for a fancy lunchbox.
It’s our take on Buta Kakuni, a Japanese braised pork dish.Today, we’ll braise a piece of pork belly until the meat turns tender, juicy and packed full of umami.
Ingredients
- 500 gram Whole Cut Pork Belly (통삼겹살 – 보쌈용)
- 4 Bok Choy
- 4 Eggs
- 10 cloves Garlic
Braising Sauce
- 20 Whole Black Pepper
- 4 Bay Leaves
- 3 Dashima Pieces
- 1 Small Piece Ginger (~size of your thumb)
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- ¼ Cup Mirin
- ¼ Cup Soy Sauce
- ¼ Cup Water
Instructions
Prep Steps
- Wash the 4 pieces of bok choy. Bring a pot of water to boil. Once its boiling, blanche the bok choy for 20 seconds. Take them out with a strainer (but don’t throw out the water – we’ll use for eggs next). Cool them down immediately in cold water. Then squeeze the water out of them. Set them aside – they’ll continue to drip off excess water.
- Now, back to the boiling pot. Place in a few big pinches of salt and few splashes of vinegar. Carefully place-in 4 eggs. Set a timer for 6 minutes. Afterwards, drain the water and cool the eggs in cold water. Peel and set aside for later.
- Take out 10 cloves of garlic. Trim off the ends. Set aside.
Make Braising Sauce
- Mix the following ingredients: 20 Whole Black Pepper, 4 Bay Leaves, 3 Dashima Squares, a small piece of Ginger (size of your thumb, cut it in half), Sugar (2 Tablespoons), Mirin (¼ Cup), Soy Sauce (¼ Cup), Water (¼ Cup).
Sear Pork Belly
- If your piece of pork belly is long, cut it in half – so it can fit into your frying pan.
- Before we sear, use a few paper towels and pat-off any moisture from the meat (this is important for searing!)
- Now, place a thick-bottomed frying pan on high heat. Place in just a drizzle of oil.
- Once its hot, place in the pork belly pieces. Sear them on all four sides until you get nice golden-brown color.
- Then, take them out of the pan and let them rest for 5 minutes.
- Important: Now, wrap the seared pork pieces in a few paper towels and pat-them down – this will remove excess oil from the surface of the seared meat. It will prevent our braising sauce from getting too oily.
Braise Meat
- Now, give your braising sauce another good mix – that’s because the sugar will have settled to the bottom. Afterwards, pour it out into a large frying wok or pot.
- Place the wok on a medium heat. Now place the seared pork pieces in.
- When it comes to a boil, set the timer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the dashima pieces. Flip the meat over and reduce the heat to a medium-low. We’ll let it continue to braise for another 5 minutes.
- Once the timer is up, check the status of your braise. The braise should be producing large bubbles. (If not, continue to boil for another 5 minutes).
- If you see large bubbles, now it’s the time to add-in the garlic pieces and soft-boiled eggs. Let it braise for a FINAL 5 minutes.
- After a total of 20-25 minutes of braising, the braising sauce will have reduced & thickened.
- Turn off the heat. Take out each of the ingredients and set aside for cutting + toppings.
- Now, pour the remaining braising sauce into a small cup (to use as glaze).
- Use a knife and cut the pork belly into thin pieces. Taste one as you cut 😉
- Scoop some rice into a bowl. Place the sliced pork belly pieces on top, then add the bok choy, braised garlic and boiled egg.
- Finish by adding a few drizzle of the glaze over each of the ingredients.
- Bon Appetit!
From: Future Neighbor
Mama Woon’s Kitchen 