Fork tender sweet and salty pork belly (chashu) is spooned over a hearty bowl of Japanese rice and generously garnished with fresh radish, spring onions, pickles and a ramen-style egg. Are you ready for Chashu Don?
Using a frying pan over a medium/high heat, heat the oil until hot. Add a few slices of the pork belly and sear for 1-2 minutes each side. Repeat with the remaining slices.If you're using a rolled pork belly, sear the entire surface until nicely browned.
Add the pork to a smallish pan then add all the poaching liquid ingredients along with 2-3 cups of water (enough to cover the pork completely)
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer gently (barely simmering) for 1½-2 hours until the pork is tender. The rolled pork may take a little longer depending on its size.
Near the end of cooking, cook the rice and keep warm.
While the pork is cooking, prepare the garnish/toppings and keep cool in the fridge.
To make the soft boiled egg, add eggs to boiling water and cook for 6 minutes. Drain the water and cool the eggs with cold water for a minute. Peel the eggs now as they'll still be warm inside and easier to peel than if left until cold. (see notes below on how to make marinated eggs).
When the pork is cooked, remove from the heat and then carefully remove the pork. Cut into small pieces and then add to a bowl with a ladleful of the braising liquid to keep it moist.
Drain the cooking liquid and discard the solids. Take 2 cups of the liquid and add to a small pan. Bring to a boil and bubble for 5 minutes to reduce. This will intensify the flavour. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To arrange the bowl, add a generous layer of the cooked rice then spoon over some pork. Pour over a little of the reduced sauce and then arrange the onion, radish and pickles on top. Slice the egg in half and add to the bowl scatter over some sesame seeds and serve hot!
To eat, mix everything together and eat with an Asian spoon alongside chopsticks.
Notes
Serving:Serve the pork over the cooked rice with a little of the reduced sauce. Then you can garnish it however you like. The Boiled egg is my favourite, but you can also serve a fried egg, poached egg or even just the raw yolk of an egg. Other than that you can play around with other garnishes including:
Daikon radish (grated or sliced)
Crispy onion
Cherry Tomato
Fresh or pickled carrot julienne
Cucumber julienne
Steamed snow peas or edamame
Shredded cabbage
Pickled ginger
Pickled cucumber
Fermented cabbage
Seaweed/nori
Rice flavouring or sesame seeds
Storage
Fridge: Leftovers will stay fresh in the fridge for 1 day. Eat cold.
Fridge (Sauce and meat): Combine the two and keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezer (Sauce and meat): Combine the two and keep in the freezer for 3+months. Defrost thoroughly before use.