• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Umami Days

Umami Days

Cooking in a house on a hill

  • Pick a meal
    • One Bowl Meals
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch / Dinner
      • Appetizers
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Main Courses
      • Side Dishes
      • Sweets
    • Snacks
  • Pick your protein
    • Chicken
    • Meat
    • Seafood
    • Eggs
    • Mushrooms
    • Tofu
    • Vegetables
  • Pick your carb
    • Rice & grains
    • Noodles
    • Bread
  • Notes
    • Kitchen
    • Dining
    • Edible Garden
    • Food Tales
    • Sidebar
  • All recipes
    • By Meal
      • One Bowl Meals
      • Breakfast
      • Lunch / Dinner
        • Appetizers
        • Salads
        • Soups
        • Main Courses
        • Side Dishes
        • Sweets
      • Snacks
    • By Main Protein
      • Chicken
      • Meat
      • Seafood
      • Eggs
      • Mushrooms
      • Tofu
      • Vegetables
    • By Carb
      • Rice & grains
      • Noodles
      • Bread
  • Notes
    • Kitchen
    • Dining
    • Edible Garden
    • Food Tales
    • Sidebar
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Meat / Japanese braised pork belly (buta no kakuni)

Japanese braised pork belly (buta no kakuni)

To cook buta no kakuni, chunks of pork belly are browned then braised in soy sauce, mirin, dashi, ginger and sugar until the fat literally melts in the mouth.

Japanese braised pork belly (buta no kakuni) and halved hard boiled egg garnished with scallions

There are several versions of buta no kakuni on the web — one flavors the braising liquid with dried sardines, another uses chicken stock and still another requires simmering the pork with aromatics before it is braised. All the Japanese braised pork belly recipes I have read, however, start with browning the pork.

Browning pork belly in pan

The pork does not need to be deep fried to brown the surface. Just coat the bottom of the pan with oil, lay the pork in a single layer, leave to brown the underside then flip to brown the opposite side. Remove the pork and transfer to plate.

You’ll have more oil in the pan at this point because the cooking oil would have gotten mixed with rendered pork fat. If you have more than a tablespoonful of fat in the pan, pour off the excess.

Pouring mirin in pan with sauteed garlic and ginger

In the mixture of oil and pork fat, saute the garlic and ginger until aromatic. Pour in the mirin and leave to boil for a minute or so to allow the strong alcohol smell to dissipate.

Pouring dashi and soy sauce in pan with ginger and garlic

Pour in dashi and soy sauce, stir in sugar and bring to a simmer. Drop the pork slices in the sauce in a single layer and allow the sauce to simmer once more. Cover the pan and leave the pork to braise until tender.

Simmering browned pork belly in soy sauce, mirin and dashi

The exact cooking time depends on a number of factors including the age of the animal and the size into which the meat was cut. Check the liquid once in a while and make sure there is always at least half an inch of liquid in the pot.

Japanese braised pork belly (buta no kakuni)

Connie Veneracion
Buta no kakuni, or Japanese braised pork belly, is cooked in two stages. The browning gives the meat texture and prevents it from acquiring the mouthfeel of boiled meat. The braising gives the meat its flavor as it slowly soaks up the richness of the seasonings and spices. 
Japanese braised pork belly (buta no kakuni) and egg
Print Pin
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 10 mins
Total Time 1 hr 20 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 450 grams pork belly
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 1 one-inch knob ginger - peeled and sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic - peeled and lightly pounded
  • ¼ cup mirin
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 packet dashi granules - (about one tablespoon) dissolved in one cup water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 hard boiled eggs - shelled and cut in into halves
  • sliced scallions - to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Cut the pork belly into slices about half an inch thick. Cut each slice into two-inch squares.
  • Heat a wide shallow pan and pour in the cooking oil.
  • Add the pork belly pieces and cook over high heat, turning them occasionally, until browned.
  • Scoop out the pork and transfer to a plate. Keep warm.
  • Heat the mixture of oil and rendered pork fat, and sauté the ginger and garlic until aromatic.
  • Pour in the mirin. Boil until the liquid is reduced by half.
  • Add the soy sauce, dashi and sugar.
  • Arrange the pork in a single layer and braise until tender and the sauce has reduced to a couple of tablespoons.
  • Serve Japanese braised pork belly hard boiled egg on the side and sprinkled with scallions.
Print Pin
Keyword Pork Belly
Last updated on June 13, 2022 ♥ Meat, Lunch / Dinner, Main Courses

More to enjoy!

Ginger beef soup with chayote and spinach

Ginger beef soup

Air fried lemongrass pork belly with dipping sauce

Air fried lemongrass pork belly

Wontons in Sichuan Chili Oil Sprinkled with Scallions and Sesame Seeds

Wontons in Sichuan chili oil

Sweet spicy orange pork ribs

Sweet spicy orange pork ribs

Beef Brisket BBQ Quesadillas Served with Chili Sauce for Dipping

Beef brisket BBQ quesadillas

Chorizo in red wine

Chorizo in red wine

Sidebar

What’s the difference between cilantro and coriander?

In cookbooks and online recipes, coriander and cilantro are used interchangeably. Both terms refer to Coriandrum sativum.

What is garam masala?

Garam masala which translates to “warm spice mix” is an ingredient often used in South Asian cooking. It isn’t one spice but a blend of several spices.

Panko (Japanese bread flakes)

Strictly speaking, panko isn’t even crumbs the way bread crumbs are understood by the English-speaking world. They are light and airy flakes.

umamidays.com
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Privacy
  • Contact

Umami Days is powered by Apple, Canon, coffee & one bowl meals · Copyright © 2022 Connie Veneracion · All Rights Reserved