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Simple Japanese Chashu recipe

TasteEvocations
Have you ever tried Chashu? In this recipe, you will learn how to prepare this amazing Japanese pork belly dish. A perfect fit for a bowl of ramen or some fried rice. It is very simple to prepare, and the result is amazing!
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 10 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian, Japanese
Servings 5 people

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g of pork belly (100 g per person, aprox.)

For the marinade

  • 1/2 cup of soy sauce
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 tbsp of brown sugar
  • Half onion
  • 1 knob of fresh ginger
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 2-3 dried shiitakes mushrooms

Instructions
 

  • For the marinade, in a tall pot add the following ingredients:
    - Half a cup of soy sauce
    - 1 cup of water
    - 1 tbsp of brown sugar
    - Half onion
    - 1 knob of ginger (10g)
    - 6 cloves of garlic
    - 2-3 dried shiitake mushrooms
    Bring the liquid to boil at high heat. In the meantime, start preparing the meat.
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  • Let's start by rolling the meat. This is generally a good idea if you have a big pork belly cut, with a long surface. For that, extend the meat on a flat surface, and if the meat has some skin / rind, please remove it. Then, roll it over itself. Use a butcher twine to tie the ends and the middle, so it doesn’t fall apart.
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  • Now, you need to sear the meat.
    Heat some oil in a pan (cast-iron skillet or similar) over high heat. Do not put a lot of oil as the pork has a lot of fat.
    Once the pan is hot, and using some tweezers, sear the pork belly, one side at a time, rotating from time to time to ensure that all sides get a golden color.
    This step should take 10-15 mins.
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  • Once the meat is seared, introduce it in the pot with the marinade.
    We want the chashu to be cooked on the inside, and that it gets all the flavors from the marinade. This process will take around 2 hours.
    For that, it is very important that you keep adding water as it consumes itself.
    Rotate the piece of meat from time to time, so it cooks evenly.
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  • After 2 hours of cooking, remove it from the pot. At this point, you should refrigerate it, as it will make it easier to slice it later on.
    That is why you should prepare this recipe 1 day in advance.
    This step will help you slice it, if you are going to serve it with some ramen.
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  • And that’s it! Following these steps, you’ll have an amazing Chashu ready to eat!
    You can slice it and add it to a bowl of ramen, or dice it and add it to some fried rice. It will add another level to your dish.
    We hope you like it!
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Notes

  • As it’s a dish that takes some time to prepare, we recommend that you prepare more than what you need and freeze the rest. It will taste the same!
  • If you do not want to roll up the meat, you can also cook it without doing it. You can cut the meat in slices of 1 cm of width. And you can follow the exact same process. The result is not exactly the same, but it will also taste amazing.
  • Additionally, depending on the type of flavor that you want to achieve, you can also experiment by adding some of the following:
    - Chives
    - Chilies (for a spicy flavor)
    - ¼ cup of mirin
    - ¼ cup of Shaoxing wine
Keyword Ramen, Simple Recipe