Buta Kakuni

Name: Buta Kakuni
Cook time: 175 min
Total time: 175 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 kg Pork Belly, skin-on, cut into 4–5 cm cubes; 500ml Dashi, or water; 200ml Sake; 120ml Soy Sauce; 100ml Mirin; 3 tbsp Sugar, rock sugar preferred; 1 piece of Ginger, about 40 g, sliced; 1 Japanese Long Onion, negi; green top or 2 scallions, cut into lengths; 1/2 Daikon, about 500 g, peeled and cut into 3–4 cm thick rounds; 4 Eggs, boiled and peeled; 2 Scallions, finely sliced (optional); Some Karashi, Japanese hot mustard

Buta Kakuni is a melt-in-your-mouth Japanese braised pork belly, slowly simmered until the fat and collagen turn pillow-soft and richly flavored. The pork is cooked in a sweet-savory dashi and soy-based braising liquid with ginger and long onion, then served with tender daikon and soy-marinated eggs — perfect for a comforting dinner or bento centerpiece.

Buta Kakuni is a melt-in-your-mouth Japanese braised pork belly, slowly simmered until the fat and collagen turn pillow-soft and r... Show more

Traditional Japanese Recipe

Health Grade

C- · Balanced

Rating

4.2

Time

2 hrs30 min

Price

5,71 €

Calories

1072 kcal

meal prep

one pot

high protein

low carb

Method

Prep the ingredients

Cut the pork belly into 4–5 cm cubes if it isn't already, then peel the daikon and cut it into 3–4 cm-thick rounds. Slice the ginger, trim the Japanese long onion (negi) into lengths, and, if you want the garnish ready, thinly slice the scallion.

Boil the eggs

Put the eggs in a small saucepan and cover them with cold water by about 2.5 cm. Bring them to a boil, then simmer for 7 minutes for just-set yolks. Move the eggs straight into ice water, cool them completely, and peel them carefully.

Blanch the pork

Put the pork in a pot and cover it with cold water. Bring it up to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, then drain, rinse the pork well, and wipe out the pot.

Start the braise

Return the pork to the clean pot with the dashi — or water, if that's what you have — plus the sake, soy sauce, mirin, rock sugar, sliced ginger, and Japanese long onion. Bring everything to a boil over medium-high, skim off any foam, then lower the heat so it barely bubbles. Cover and simmer for 70 minutes, turning the pork once or twice so it braises evenly.

Add daikon and eggs

Nestle the daikon into the pot and add the peeled eggs. Spoon the braising liquid over everything, then keep it at a gentle simmer for 25 minutes more, or until the daikon is tender all the way through and the eggs are deeply colored.

Reduce to glaze

Uncover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes more, spooning the sauce over the pork until it turns glossy and lightly syrupy. Lift out the ginger and Japanese long onion if you want a cleaner-looking platter.

Serve it up

Arrange the pork, daikon, and eggs in shallow bowls, spoon the shiny sauce over the top, and finish with the sliced scallion and a little karashi on the side.