Instant Pot Buta no Kakuni (Braised Pork Belly)
Buta no Kakuni, Japanese Braised Pork Belly made in an Instant Pot. Tender and delicious chunks of pork in a sweet-salty sauce. Served over rice is down home Asian Soul food..
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.
Notes
If you make this ahead of time, chill pork and skim off the fat before reheating. I know it makes me feel better! Place eggs in the pork & sauce to absorb some of the flavor from the braising liquid. Take them out to skim the fat and add them back in when reheating.