Japanese-Style Braised Iberico Pork Belly with Mustard Greens & Egg

Braised Iberico Pork Belly, Japanese-Style

Sarah MickeyAll Recipes, Pork & Wild Boar Belly Recipes, Pork Recipes Leave a Comment

Japanese-Style Braised Iberico Pork Belly with Mustard Greens & Egg

Makes 6 Servings
wine WINE PAIRING
Australian Shiraz

This dish (called buta kakuni in Japanese) is classic Japanese comfort food – slow braised, ultra-tender pork belly in a sweet-savory sauce of ginger, sake & soy sauce, served with boiled egg, carrot & mustard. It’s easy, relaxing, and delicious.

INGREDIENTS
  • 2lbs Iberico Pork Belly, skin on
  • 1 cup quarter-sized rounds of Fresh Ginger, skin on.
  • 2/3 cup Sake
  • Greens of 1 bunch of Scallions, cut into 1” lengths
  • 4 cups Dashi Broth
  • 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Soy Sauce (we used Aged Tamari for depth & to keep the recipe gluten free)
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 bunch Mustard Greens, cleaned, center ribs removed & leaves roughly chopped
  • 1 Whole Carrot, thinly sliced
  • 4 Eggs, steamed for 9 minutes & peeled
  • Mustard of Choice

DIRECTIONS

1

Preheat your oven to 275°F.
2

Score the skin of the pork belly in a cross-hatched pattern, every half-inch or so, with a knife.
3

Cut the belly into 1” deep by 1” wide chunks.
4

Brown the belly pieces, skin-side down in a hot frying pan or skillet with a small amount of oil.
5

Once the skin is browned, turn the pieces to brown the remaining sides.
6

Remove the pieces of pork belly to a baking dish. Drain the excess rendered fat out of the pan, leaving only about 1 tablespoon.
7

Add the ginger rounds to the pan & saute them in the remaining fat.
8

Once the ginger has cooked for a couple of minutes, pour in the sake & simmer to reduce it.
9

Once the sake has almost completely evaporated, add the scallion greens. Briefly saute them for a minute.
10

Pour the dashi, soy sauce, salt, and sugar into the pan.
11

Bring the liquid to a boil, then pour the mixture (ginger & all) over the pork belly in the dish.
12

Move the dish (uncovered) to the oven to braise. Check every 45 minutes, adding water as necessary to keep the belly pieces 3/4 covered with liquid.
13

Once the pork belly is almost fork tender (2-3 hours), remove the pan from the oven & add the mustard greens. Return the pan to the oven & cook for five minutes.
14

Nestle in the boiled eggs and sliced carrots. Add extra dashi until the eggs are covered. Cook for an additional 3 minutes.
15

Remove the eggs from the pan & cut them in half lengthwise.
16

Serve portions of the pork belly with egg, mustard greens & carrot with some of the broth (discard the ginger). Add a little mustard on the side for people to add to their bites as desired.
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