International dishesBraised DishesJapanabout 80 minutes, plus overnight in the marinade
Chashu gives you a block of pork belly braised until it falls apart, then steeped in its soy liquid overnight so the flavor reaches the center. This is the pork that goes on a bowl of ramen, sliced thin and torched at the surface.
The hardest part is braising long enough without letting the block collapse. Searing every side before braising is what holds the shape of the meat. The lowest possible heat and a turn every 15 minutes are what make it soft all the way through, rather than mushy in one place and chewy in another.
This batch weighs about 1.4kg, at roughly 386 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 1kg pork belly and pat the skin dry. A squared off block is easiest to work with.
Film a pan with 1 tablespoon cooking oil, lay the pork skin side down until golden, then sear the remaining sides until evenly browned.
Use a cast iron or heavy bottomed pot. Trim the root off 1 spring onion and leave it in long lengths, and thinly slice 1 piece of ginger.
Put the pork in the pot with the spring onion, ginger, 80g cooking wine, 80g soy sauce, 160g water and 27g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend.
Bring it to a boil, drop the heat to its lowest setting, set the lid ajar and braise for about 1 hour until the pork is very soft, turning it every 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat, let the pork cool completely, transfer it to a sealed container and pour the soy liquid over until it is submerged.
Cover and refrigerate overnight so the pork takes on flavor and firms up.
To serve, reheat in the microwave or in ramen broth, or torch the surface to melt the set fat.
Tips
Rolling and tying the pork with string before braising gives the neat round slices you see in a ramen shop.
The braising liquid makes an excellent marinade for soft boiled eggs.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so the pot needs another stir after 5 minutes to spread the sweetness through the liquid.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend does not darken on its own, and the brown of the meat comes from the soy sauce and the searing step.
The pork has to be completely cool before slicing, since a hot block falls apart under the knife.
The overnight steep is not optional, because pork eaten the same day is still bland at the center.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.