Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Pork Belly) Skin in the Game ブタの角煮
Bowl + Spoon = Soul Food
My favorite equation, like Eat = MC(squared), which, in my book, stands for M-meat, C-Cooked & Crazy delish. After trying several Chinese pork belly recipes I switched gears and made Japanese style braised pork belly, Buta no Kakuni. Pork belly simmmered in a soy sauce-sugar mixture until the pork is meltingly tender and suffused with a sweet-salty flavor.
One of our frequent stops pre-Covid was a Ramen joint in Saratoga called Kahoo (sadly gone). While the rest of the fam ordered bowls of delicious ramen and Karaage (fried chicken), I would order their Buta no Kakuni and a bowl of rice. The pork was soft, unctuous, and tender. It literally jiggled when the pork is placed on the table. A soft boiled egg sits, nestled in the pork, and ups the richness and decadence of the dish. I would spoon the pork with some of the sauce on the rice and break the soft-cooked egg over the top so it oozed over pork and rice, it’s divine. Finish with a side of greens like bok choy or broccoli (gotta have something healthy in the bowl) and this is a bowl made in heaven.
The Lowdown
Start with a slab of pork belly with the skin on. Yep, skin on. Pork belly with skin can be found in most Asian Markets. The skin is Ah-mazing. The braising turns the pork skin into this silky smooth, melt-in-your-mouth layer striated with flavor-infused meat. If pork belly was a dance it would be the perfect tango. Splurge, look for pork belly with skin. Not gonna lie, this is dish is not on the New Year’s resolution list so enjoy in moderation. The dish is so flavorful that a little goes a long way. Drizzle the sauce over the pork and rice and pair it with lots of greens. You can also use Boston Butt or shoulder, which would still be delicious, just not porkfect.
Instantly Easier
Pull out your Instant Pot for this dish (adapted from Sylvia Wakana). The pressure cooker shortens the cooking time and simplifies the process a little. Cut the pork belly into 1.5-2 inch chunks, brown them in your IP, add water, ginger, scallion and shiitake mushrooms (optional) seal the pot, set the cooking time 35 minutes, and let the pot do its thing. I add dried shiitake mushrooms just for a bit more umami, you could use dried anchovies or bit of dashi instead). Release the pressure at Drain pork and remove aromatics. Rinse the pork and place it back into the cleaned Instant Pot bowl. Add sauce ingredients, seal and set for another 10-15 minutes depending on size of pieces.
I like to make Buta no Kakuni in advance so I can stick it in the fridge and chill it. When it is time to eat, I skim off the fat that has now congealed (making it easy to remove), throw a couple of ramen style eggs into the pot, and reheat the pork. The flavors have saturated the pork, you have skimmed the fat to make it a bit healthier…win, win, time to enjoy!
Garnish with slivers of green onions, sesame seeds and a dash of Shichimi (Japanese Chili powder) for a little kick. I have been sprinkling Momofuku Spicy Salt to finish my dishes, pretty yummy!
This is blustery weather, stay inside, curled up on the couch food. Enjoy.
Instant Pot Buta no Kakuni (Braised Pork Belly)
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork belly skin on cut into 1-1/2 to 2 inch cubes
- 3 green onions washed and crushed with flat part of knife to release flavor
- 1 inch ginger peeled and sliced
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms Shhhh, don't tell my mom, I don't soak them beforehand, I just throw them in the pot.
- 1 tbsp oil
- water for cooking the pork belly
- Sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup sake
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 soft or hard boiled eggs just cooked enough so you can peel each egg. yolk should be runny
- green onions diced for garnish
Instructions
- Prep ingredients: Cut pork belly into 2" x 2" cubes (or as close to that as you can get depending on the type of pork belly you have).
- Press the "Sauté" function on your Instant Pot and set to high (or "More"). Heat the oil and sear the pork belly a little bit to render some of the fat from the pork belly.
- Drain fat that has rendered out, pour enough water into the pot to cover the pork belly. Add in sliced ginger, green onions and shiitake mushrooms.
- Cover and lock the lid. Press the "Cancel" button to stop the sauté. Press "Manual" to use the pressure cooker function. Set cook time to 35 minutes.
- When it is finished, carefully move steam handle to the venting position to let out the steam until the float valve drops. Once depressurized, remove the lid carefully. Pour contents into a strainer/colander to drain the water. Discard aromatics. Rinse the pork belly under warm water.
- Put the pork belly back into the Instant Pot and add the sauce ingredients. Press the "Sauté" function and set it to "More." Stir the pork and sauce mixture to combine, bring to a simmer for a minute (just enough to burn off the alcohol). Press "Cancel" to stop the sauté. Cover and lock the lid. Press "Manual" and set the cooking time for 10-15 minutes depending on size of pieces.
- When it's finished cooking, carefully push the steam release handle to the venting position to let out the steam until the float valve drops (you can also let the pressure release naturally). Once depressurized, remove the lid carefully.
- Press the "Sauté" and put it on "Less" (or low) to bring to a low simmer. Add in your soft or hardboiled eggs. Simmer until sauce is reduced slightly (couple of minutes).
- Place 2-4 pieces of the pork on top of a bed of rice, drizzle generously with sauce. Garnish green onions. Split egg in half and place along side pork. Serve with greens of choice, bok choy, cabbage, your choice.