Slices of Pork Belly Chashu
(click to enlarge)

Pork Belly Chashu


Japan
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 1 #
***
2-1/2 hrs
Yes		 This delicious preparation is most famous as a topping for Ramen Soups, but it can also be used as a topping for Rice, inclusion in Fried Rice, just as a Snack, or many other ways.

2
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1
1
1
1/4
1/3
3
2
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1
#
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c
c
c
c
c
in
pod
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T
Pork Belly (1)  
-- Seasoning
Mirin (2)
Sake
Soy Sauce
Sugar
Water
Ginger Root
Star Anise (3)
------------
Oil
Prep   -   (25 min)
  1. Cut Skin from the Pork Belly.
  2. In a spacious skillet (a 12 inch will do 2 pounds in a single batch), heat Oil and fry PORK BELLY until nicely browned on all sides. Set aside.
Run   -   (2 hrs - 15 min work)
  1. Cut GINGER into thick slices. Mix all Seasoning items in a sauce pan.
  2. Place Pork Belly in the sauce pan of Seasoning. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for about 1 hour, or until pork is tender. Let cool to room temperature in the seasoning.
  3. Once cool, the Pork Chashu can be used immediately, or tightly wrapped and refrigerated for a few days. See also Sauce.
  4. Serve warm as a topping.
NOTES:

  1. Pork Belly:

      Try to get Pork Belly that's about half meat and half fat. Most recipes call for using a single slab, but for that I'd have to go all the way to Vietnam/China (42 miles round trip). The Philippines is closer, but they tend to be more costly. Around here its sliced about 1 inch wide, which is fine by me. Recipes call for "skinless", but here in Southern California it's always "skin on", which is the way it's usually used here. I do shave off the skin for this recipe, but no way am I going to waste that pig skin. It goes into the sauce to be cooked for about 40 minutes, then eaten as a snack. YES, pork belly is fatty, but the Low Fat Diet has been found to be fraudulent from the get go, and is now thought to be harmful - so go for the flavor - it'll just cause you to eat less sugary stuff. If you're still not convinced, you can use Pork Shoulder, but make sure it's pretty fatty or you will be disappointed.

  2. Mirin:

      This is properly a sweet cooking potion made by a process similar to Sake, but different rice and much sweeter. Around here the real thing is hard to find and expensive. Products like Kikkoman "Aji Mirin" (Aji means "tastes like") are fine for recipes like this. For closer to the real thing see our Mirin - Non Traditional page.

  3. Star Anise

      The pattern recipe says "optional", but I always have plenty and see no reason to omit it for additional flavor. For details see our Star Anise page.

  4. Sauce

      The Sauce left from this recipe is often used as the soaking sauce for making Ajitama Eggs.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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