Chashu, Japanese Pork Roll
Japanese Chashu - tender pork roll, slowly cooked in an umami-packed sauce until it becomes incredibly soft and succulent. Perfect for ramen or simply enjoyed as is, in sandwiches or salads.
Ingredients
1 piece of pork belly about 1kg
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
50g mirin
50g sugar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 garlic cloves
15g ginger
1-2 tablespoons oil
How to prepare chashu, japanese pork roll
- Choose a piece of pork belly that's as meaty as possible. Roll the pork belly and tie it tightly with kitchen string.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven that fits the roll and brown it on all sides for about 3 minutes each.
- Add the ginger and garlic cut into slices, sugar and the rest of the liquid ingredients.
- Put the lid on the pot and place in the oven at 120C for 2.5 hours, turning the roll in the liquid every half hour. If you have a meat thermometer, the meat should reach 90C.
- Remove the pot from the oven and let the roll cool in the liquid. Then put it in the refrigerator until the next day.
- The next day, take it out of the pot and you can slice it thin. The slices are served warm, browned in a dry pan (the meat is quite fatty, it will release its own fat).
- Keep the roll in the refrigerator, wrapped in foil. Only slice as much as you'll consume at once.