Kakuni

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Kakuni, or Japanese braised pork belly, is cooked very slowly and gently along with aromatic vegetables, Dashi and soya sauce. The tender result literally melts in the mouth and tastes simply delicious as a topping for Ramen or as a side dish with rice dishes!

To be honest: I’d always thought that there was only one really good way to cook fatty meat – and that was on the barbecue, for example as a teppanyaki steak. After trying kakuni for the first time, I was able to put that idea to rest!

By braising the fatty pork belly very slowly and gently, the fat transforms into pure flavour… which makes this dish absolutely irresistible. That’s why you can actually use really nice, fatty pork belly for this recipe.

Incidentally, literally translated, ‘kakuni’ means ‘square-shaped braised’, which basically refers to the shape of this dish. Unlike, for example, chashu – rolled pork belly – the meat for kakuni is simply cut into handy cubes and cooked. So there’s no need to roll anything up with string or anything like that. This also makes this Japanese delicacy a super-simple dish that can just simmer away ‘on the side’ without causing much hassle.The wonderful flavour of the braised pork belly is infused into the meat through three key steps: First, the diced pork belly is seared vigorously on all sides in its own fat, so that the crust prevents it from falling apart later, ensuring the meat juices don’t escape. The meat is then cooked for two hours with plenty of ginger and green spring onions – after which the meat is already melt-in-the-mouth tender! But that’s not all, as it’s followed by a further hour of cooking in a stock made from homemade Dashi broth, soy sauce (im Shop ansehen), Mirin (im Shop ansehen), Sake (im Shop ansehen) and sugar.

Das wunderbare Aroma des geschmorten Schweinebauchs wird durch drei wesentliche Schritte in das Fleisch gebracht: Zuerst wird der gewürfelte Schweinebauch rundum im eigenen Fett kräftig angebraten, sodass die Kruste ein späteres Auseinanderfallen verhindert, sodass der Fleischsaft nicht austritt.

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Dann wird das Fleisch zusammen mit viel Ingwer und grünen Frühlingszwiebeln für zwei Stunden gekocht – das Fleisch ist danach schon butterzart! Aber das ist noch nicht alles, denn es schließt sich eine weitere Stunde Garzeit in einem Sud aus einer selbstgemachten Dashi Brühe, Sojasauce (im Shop ansehen), Mirin (im Shop ansehen), Sake (im Shop ansehen) und Zucker an.

Kakuni is served in Japan on all sorts of occasions; it’s almost part of everyday Japanese cuisine. For example, Kakuni is highly recommended as a complete meal, served piping hot straight from the pot alongside Japanese sticky rice and a dollop of spicy karashi mustard. However, it can also be served in smaller portions as a delicious starter.

As kakuni originally comes from China, it also makes sense to serve the braised pork belly, cut into thin slices, as a topping for Ramen noodle soups.</ strong> To serve as an accompaniment to delicious ramen noodles, the meat should be left to marinate overnight in the fridge after cooking. To do this, place the cubes of meat in an airtight container and pour the cooking liquid over them until they are half submerged. Once well chilled, the meat is easier to cut into thin strips the following day, ready to be served as a hearty topping.

In my opinion, this delicious pork belly goes best with a hearty bowl of Tokyo Shoyu Ramen (click here for the recipe):

As a reminder: Ramen noodles are slightly wavy, yellowish wheat noodles of Chinese origin and are considered a delicious noodle soup and a true cult dish in Japan. A bowl of ramen consists of ramen noodles, the broth plus Tare (seasoning sauce), hearty accompaniments and aromatic toppings. You can find out even more about ramen noodles and discover further delicious recipe ideas here in the main article on Ramen!

I hope that with this irresistible recipe for braised pork belly (kakuni), I can conjure up a little piece of Japan right into your home! And now I hope you have fun and enjoy making it:

serves 2 | 3.5 hours | 1171 kcal

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Kakuni, or Japanese braised pork belly, is cooked very slowly and gently with aromatic vegetables, Dashi and soya sauce. The tender result literally melts in the mouth and tastes simply delicious as a topping for Ramen or as a side dish with rice dishes!

Ingredients (2 portions)

500 g pork belly
30 g ginger (fresh)
4 spring onions
2 L water

1 L Dashi broth (im Shop ansehen)* (to the recipe)
4 tbsp soya sauce (im Shop ansehen)*
4 tbsp Mirin (im Shop ansehen)*
4 tbsp Sake (im Shop ansehen)*
4 tbsp sugar

* Add ingredients to your basket 🪄

Useful tools:
Santoku knife (im Shop ansehen)

Preparation (3.5 hours)

Step 1

Ingredients </ strong>for the tender Japanese pork belly kakuni, and prepare the Dashi broth made from Kombu and Shiitake (click here for the recipe).

Step 2

First of all, cut the pork belly into 5 cm cubes as evenly as possible using a large, sharp knife.

Step 3

Also, wash the spring onions , pat them dry and cut them into larger pieces. Then peel the ginger and cut it into rough pieces as well.

Step 4

Heat a large, shallow frying pan over a medium to high heat and place the pork belly, fat side down, into the pan – ideally without any oil. Brown the meat on all sides until golden brown, but be careful, as the hot fat that spurts out can easily cause burns! This step reduces the fat content of the meat and prevents it from falling apart later on.

Step 5

Once the meat is nicely browned, lift it out of the pan onto a kitchen towel and pat off the excess fat.

Step 6

Place the fried pork belly, the spring onions and half the ginger into a large saucepan and fill with water. Put the lid on and bring the stock to the boil.

Step 7

Then remove the lid, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let the meat simmer gently for 2 hours without the lid .
Stir carefully from time to time. As soon as the water has reduced too much, add more lukewarm water so that the pork is always covered with boiling water.

Step 8

Once the cooking time is up, carefully lift the meat out of the stock using tongs, as the pork belly is now melt-in-the-mouth tender. Strain the remaining stock through a sieve – it can then be used as a pork stock base for a delicious noodle soup or frozen for later use.

Step 9

Rinse the pot briefly with clean water and place it back on the hob. Return the cubes of meat to the pot and pour the prepared Dashi broth over them. Also add the second half of the ginger, soy sauce, Mirin, Sake and sugar , then stir gently.

Step 10

Bring to the boil again over a high heat, then simmer uncovered for 1 hour over the lowest heat. Keep basting the meat with the stock and turn it gently. Once the meat has taken on a lovely sheen – after about an hour – it is ready.

Step 11

The Japanese braised pork belly is now ready. The meat can, for example, be served straight away as a side dish with rice, garnished with a little mustard. If using it as a topping for delicious ramen noodles, the meat should be left to marinate overnight in the fridge. To do this, place the cubes of meat in an airtight container and pour the cooking liquid over them until they are half submerged. Once well chilled, the meat will be easier to cut into fine strips the following day, to be served as a hearty topping. Any leftovers can then easily be frozen. Ready – Itadakimasu!

Would you like to use the braised pork belly (Kakuni) as a topping for a delicious homemade noodle soup? Here you’ll find my favourite recipes for Japanese noodle soups: