Japanese Braised Pork Belly
Thick cubes of pork belly are blanched for five minutes to purge impurities, then simmered for fifty minutes in water with ginger and green onion until the fat layers turn translucent and yielding. The parboiled meat is transferred to a fresh pot with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, where it braises over medium-low heat for another thirty minutes as the liquid reduces by half and lacquers each piece in a dark, glossy coat. Mirin carries away any residual off-odors along with its alcohol while depositing a gentle sweetness into the pork, and ginger neutralizes the musky quality that belly fat can develop during long cooking. Boiled eggs added to the braising liquid absorb the soy-mirin mixture through their whites, turning amber and picking up flavor all the way to the yolk. Cooling the finished dish and reheating it once transforms the texture further: collagen that dissolved during cooking sets into a gel while cold, then melts again upon warming, thickening the sauce into something close to a demi-glace. Skimming the solidified fat from the chilled surface removes excess grease without dulling the flavor.
Adjust Servings
Instructions
- 1
Cut pork belly into large cubes and blanch for 5 minutes.
- 2
Simmer pork with water, ginger, and scallion for 50 minutes.
- 3
Transfer pork to a fresh pot with soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and boiled eggs.
- 4
Add 300 ml cooking broth and braise for 30 minutes over medium-low heat.
- 5
Reduce sauce by half, then rest briefly before serving.
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