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Tender pieces of slow cooked pork belly, this Kakuni recipe is melt-in-your mouth tender, rich and delicious. Braised in a ginger broth, then served in a sweet soy sauce based sauce, this Japanese Pork Belly is also easy to make!
This Kakuni (or Japanese Pork Belly) is one of the best things ever. Braised in an incredible cooking liquid then caramelized under the broiler, this stuff is SO GOOD.
And it's SO EASY. Throwing some pork belly in a pot and letting it simmer on low for a couple hours just doesn't take that much effort.
And at the end you have a beautiful fall apart tender melt-in-your-mouth piece of pork - like with this Chinese braised pork belly or these braised pork shanks that we really love too!
Seriously, this pork just melts in your mouth. It's incredible. Serve it on top of some rice with some sliced green onions and you've got yourself a pot of gold.
These Pork Belly Tacos are another great way to indulge in pork belly, as is this Crispy Pork Belly Yakisoba, pork belly sandwich or sous vide pork belly.
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What is Kakuni?
Kakuni is a classic Japanese braised pork belly dish. It is typically slow cooked until tender and served in a sweet soy sauce based sauce.
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Ingredients
Most of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.
- Pork Belly - see below for tips on choosing the best pork belly for this recipe. You should be able to get it at your local grocery store or butcher. You can also buy pork belly online.
- Dashi powder - combined with water, this makes a dashi stock, or a dried kelp and bonito flake broth, used often in Japanese cooking.
- Mirin - sweet Japanese rice wine.
- Sake - Japanese rice wine.
If you want to learn a little more about the Japanese ingredients I use in my cooking, check out this post on the Japanese Pantry Essentials.
The full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
How to Choose Pork Belly
For the best results, buy center cut pork belly, and get it as lean as you can. Pork belly has a very high fat content, and while we want the fat (it's what makes it so good!), we also want a good ratio of meat to fat, like we use in this Twice Cooked Pork.
Learn more about pork belly.
Why This Recipe Works
- Braising the pork belly in a lightly seasoned broth helps it to become melt-in-your-mouth tender;
- Broiling the pork belly after it finishes braising adds perfectly crisp, caramelized edges. Which are incredible.
- The sugar in the cooking liquid makes the pork belly deliciously sticky and balances the saltiness of the dashi and soy sauce.
Step By Step Instructions
Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat and add the pork belly. Brown on all sides.
Cover the pork belly with water and add the piece of ginger and the green onions.
Bring to a boil and turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer for about 2 hours.
Drain the pork belly and add it back to the pot with all the other ingredients.
Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer another 30 minutes.
Drain and place the pork belly on a foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place pork belly under the broiler to crisp the edges. Crisp on both sides.
Serve over Instant Pot sushi rice, in ramen or with vegetables.
Expert Tips
- Place the pork belly under the broiler for 5-10 minutes to crisp up the fat. Be careful not to let it burn! It will burn quickly due to the sugar in the braising liquid.
- Buy the pork belly with the least amount of fat you can find. It will still have plenty of fat to be nice and tender.
- If you don't have sake, you can substitute a dry white wine.
- You can substitute chicken stock for the dashi, but the flavor of the dish will not be as good.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend reheating the pork belly in the oven for the best results. This will enable the skin to crisp back up. Be careful not to overcook.
Leftover kakuni can be stored in the freezer (in a freezer safe bag or container) for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven to re-crisp the skin.
Pork belly is typically tough when it hasn't been cooked long enough. It can also be tough if you choose a meat that is too lean and overcook it - it should have a good amount of fat on it, while still having a good amount of meat.
Kakuni is not typically spicy. Kakuni is a braised pork belly commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It has a sweet and savory taste. If you want to make it spicy, you can serve it with hot sauce or chili oil.
How to Use Kakuni (Ways to Eat Kakuni)
- Serve it with some steamed white rice or Fried Rice and garnish it with sliced green onions;
- Place slices of kakuni in Homemade Ramen;
- Serve it with a side of veggies like this Baby Bok Choy or pickles to cut the richness of the pork.
- Serve it on a sandwich with a Japanese mayonnaise.
If you're a pork lover like I am, you may want to also browse all the Pork Recipes - there are some ultra delicious ones on the site!
Did you make this Kakuni recipe? Rate the recipe and leave me a comment to let me know how it turned out!
This recipe was originally published in January 2018. It has been updated for content and photos.
Recipe
Kakuni (Japanese Pork Belly)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds pork belly
- 2 cups water
- 2 ½ teaspoons dashi stock
- ½ cup mirin
- ¼ cup sake
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled
- 6 green onions ends removed and cut in half
Instructions
- Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat and brown the pork belly on all sides.
- Add enough water to cover the pork belly and add the ginger and green onions. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer on low for 2 hours. Pork belly should be tender.
- Drain the pork belly. I highly recommend saving the cooking liquid for future use.
- Put remaining ingredients in a pot with pork belly and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer on low for 30 minutes, uncovered. Sauce should be reduced.
- Drain and place pork belly pieces on a lined baking sheet. Broil each side for 3-5 minutes, until lightly crisped and caramelized.
Expert Tips:
- Place the pork belly under the broiler for 5-10 minutes to crisp up the fat. Be careful not to let it burn! It will burn quickly due to the sugar in the braising liquid.
- Buy the pork belly with the least amount of fat you can find. It will still have plenty of fat to be nice and tender.
- If you don't have sake, you can substitute a dry white wine.
- You can substitute chicken stock for the dashi, but the flavor of the dish will not be as good.
Nutrition
Jon
Hi, I could only find ready made liquid Dashi stock - is your recipe for the powdered stock and so that’s why it’s teaspoons? I’m essentially trying to work out how much of the ready made stock I should use! Thanks
Danielle
Yes, it's for the powdered stock. If you can only find the liquid stock, just replace the water with the stock and you should be good to go!
Susan
When is the dashi added? . Am not reading that.
Danielle
It's actually added in step 4 - it's lumped in with the "remaining ingredients".
Paley
Hi there
Everything looks great but please note your chopsticks are crossed and this is a big faux pas in East Asian cultures. We would never do this as it’s a sign of great disrespect
Danielle
Thank you so much for letting me know!
Michelle
What would you recommend saving the cooking liquid for?
Great recipe!
Danielle
I personally like to use it when I make ramen - it's adds a nice flavor and richness. I would strain it and save it for use in any recipes that calls for broth as it adds a nice flavor and richness to any dish!
Daisy
Does adding the remaining ingredients in step 4 include the 2 cups of water, or has the 2 cups of water already been used in step 2 when covering the pork belly? Thanks for putting this together!
Danielle
Yes, step 4 includes the 2 cups of water. The initial water used t cover the pork belly didn't have a measurement because it would have been different depending on the pot size, etc. So the 2 cups is part of step 4. Enjoy!
Megan
Thank you for this recipe. Our local Ramen bar has a pork dish that they call Chashu Don, served on rice and garnished with spring onions and red pickles. It is absolutely delicious and after searching the web high and low, this recipe is the closest I have found, and utterly delicious. I have made this about 5 time now and will continue to do so.
Can't wait to check out your other recipes now. This is a 10 out of 5 🙂
Danielle
Thank you so much for the kind words 🙂 I'm so glad you liked it!! I hope you will love the other recipes as well!
Dannii
My husband would love this. I am definitely going to give it a try.
Danielle
Hope you love it!
Demeter
What a flavorful dinner option! Thank you for breaking down the whole process. It looks fantastic!
Danielle
You're welcome Demeter!