Chashu Pork Belly

The king of all ramen toppings! Chashu pork at its best, in my opinion, is rich, fatty, and practically melts when it hits your tounge. Some people prefer it a little more firm and steak-like in texture, but that’s not my preference.

This is based on Ramen Lord’s recipe for sous vide chashu pork from his Book of Ramen. The biggest changes are that I added a bit less water to reduce the total liquid overall, because my vacuum sealer doesn’t do well with lots of liquid. I also don’t sear the pork ahead of time. It does result in slightly more flavor if you do, but it’s so much easier this way, and it’s not that different. I sometimes sear the sliced pieces with a propane torch before serving.

Ingredients:

• 2-4 lbs. Pork belly (I prefer skinless for this recipe)
• 125 mL (approx. 0.5 cup) mirin
• 125 mL (approx. 0.5 cup) soy sauce
• 125 mL (approx. 0.5 cup) water
• 12.5 g (1 tbsp) brown sugar
• Large bowl of ice water

Directions:

1. Preheat a water bath to 79° C/ 175° F using a sous vide water circulator.
2. Combine mirin, soy sauce, water, and brown sugar in a microwave safe vessel. Heat in microwave until hot enough to dissolve sugar. Stir. Cool to room temperature or below.
3. Add all ingredients to either a vaccuum bag or ziplock bag. Remove air and seal.
4. Cook pork belly for 12 hours in water bath.
5. Remove from water bath and transfer bag into ice water until the pork is at room temperature.
6. Place in refridgerator for at least 6 hours.
7. Slice straight from the fridge while still cold (it’s too soft to slice easily when it’s warm).

Serving suggestions

• Ramen: slice thin, and char with a propane torch (the kind you get from the hardware store for sweating pipes, not the wimpy kitchen butane torches), then serve on top of the ramen of your choice.
• Chashu pork bowl: chop onto small pieces (1”x1”x1/8” or so), toss in a hot pan to get some color on it. Once browned a bit, drizzle in some Japanese BBQ sauce or teriyaki sauce or similar, and toss to coat. Serve on top of hot rice, along with crispy fried shallots.

---

Notes:

• This is based on Ramen Lord’s recipe for sous vide chashu pork from his Book of Ramen.
• The changes I’ve made:
  • I added a bit less water to reduce the total liquid overall, because my vacuum sealer doesn’t do well with lots of liquid.
  • I don’t sear the pork ahead of time. It does result in slightly more flavor if you do, but it’s so much easier this way, and it’s not that different. I sometimes sear the sliced pieces with a propane torch before serving.
  • His recipe says for 7-12 hours. It’s fully cooked at 7, but even at 10, the fat isn’t quite melty enough for my taste, so I went with 12.
• Tip: save the gelatinous gelatinous and fatty liquid that’s in the bag – it’s delicious stuff. If you add additional salt to it, it can function as a tare for your ramen.