Chashu pork (for ramen and more)

overhead view of bowl of chashu pork ramen

5 from 2 votes

Chashu pork (for ramen and more)

Chashu pork is a classic way to prepare pork belly for Japanese dishes such as ramen. While it takes a little time, it's relatively hands off and easy, and the result is delicious.

Prep Time15

Cook Time2 5

rest time (approx)12

Total Time2 20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: or more, depending how used

Calories: 1378kcal

Author: Caroline's Cooking

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Ingredients

2 lb pork belly or a little more/less
2 green onions spring onions, or 3 if small
1 in fresh ginger (a chunk that will give around 4 - 6 slices)
2 cloves garlic
⅔ cup sake
⅔ cup soy sauce
¼ cup mirin
½ cup sugar
2 cups water or a little more as needed

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Have some string/kitchen twine ready and a pair of scissors before you prepare the pork. If needed, trim excess fat from the outside of the pork but you still want a later over the meat itself. Roll the piece of pork belly with the fatter end in the middle, and the flatter part making the roll around it. It may be a little tricky to hold together, but try your best as you tie it. Loop a piece of string around one end of the rolled pork and tie it in a double knot so that it holds the pork together. Then, taker the long end of the string and make additional loops around the pork, around ⅔in/2cm apart (or closer), looping through as you go and tightening to make a row of loops, linked together, along the roll. Then loop through over both ends so that it holds the ends in a little better as well and tie off and cut the string. (See pictures and video if you need a bit more guidance on how.)
Cut the piece of ginger into slices - there's no need to peel it. Peel and trim the ends from the garlic. Trim both ends off the green/spring onions and cut into long lengths.
Warm a skillet/frying pan large enough to hold the pork but not much bigger, ideally cast iron or at least heavy based. Then sear the pork on all sides to gently brown and seal the pork and fat, including the ends. Start with a fatty side so that some of the fat releases to help with the searing. Once browned all over, remove from skillet and set aside. You can discard the excess fat that has come out.
Meanwhile, place the sake, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, water and the prepared ginger, garlic and green onions in a pot. You want a pot that is just a little wider than the piece of rolled pork so that it will be mostly covered by the liquid once added. Place over a medium heat, covered, and bring to a simmer, stirring now and then to ensure sugar dissolves.
Once the sake-soy mixture is simmering, and you have seared the pork, add the pork into the liquid. The liquid should be at least ⅔ up the pork, if not a little more - you can add a little more water if needed. Cover with the lid and bring back to a simmer then reduce the heat so that it simmers gently. Cook for about two hours, turning roughly every 30 minutes so that each side is submerged half the time. If the liquid gets below halfway, then add a little more water.
After two hours, the pork will be cooked through and should be fairly tender. Turn off the heat and leave the pork to cool in the cooking liquid at least 10 minutes, but you can leave until room temperature. Once cool, remove the pork and set aside a minute. Strain the cooking liquid into a measuring jug to remove the ginger etc. Let it sit a few minutes so that the fat floats to the top then spoon off the fat and discard.
Place the pork inside a freezer bag, just a little bigger than the pork itself, and sit it in a dish in case of any spills. Then, pour some of the cooking liquid into the bag so that the pork is submerged. Carefully remove excess air from the bag, seal up and then place in the fridge overnight. Don't skip this step, as it helps the pork firm up, but also tenderize further and take in more flavor.
The next day, when ready to use, carefully take the pork out of the liquid and remove any fat that has solidified on it (that's not park of the pork belly itself). Cut off the string then cut the pork into relatively thin slices, so that you get coiled pieces of the pork belly.
To prepare it to top ramen, warm some of the cooking liquid in a skillet and then add the pork, a few slices at a time so that they form a single layer. Simmer a couple minutes, carefully turning as needed, so that the pork warms through and gently caramelizes in the liquid. For chashu fried rice, you will instead want to chop the pork further and then fry, along with the rice.

Video

Notes

Don't discard the cooking liquid after the braising - it's great to add in to your ramen broth base to add extra flavor and you can also use it to make ramen eggs.

After the pork has rested in the fridge overnight, you can divide and freeze part of the pork, freezing with some of the braising liquid. You can also leave in the fridge an additional day.

Nutrition