Chashu Pork

Meltingly soft and tender Chashu Pork which is caramelised to perfection. Chashu Pork is a delicious accompaniment to Ramen or served simply with steamed rice. Recipe with step-by-step photos.

Chashu Pork

If you love ramen, specifally Shoyu Ramen, you may be familiar with Chashu Pork. Thin slices of Chashu Pork are a typical accompaniment to ramen noodle soups, but it is also delicious served simply with steamed Jasmine rice and Asian greens.

What is Chashu Pork?

Chashu Pork is pork belly which has been slow-cooked in an aromatic braising liquid.

The resulting meat is beautifully soft and tender which should literally melt in your mouth.

Chashu Pork Recipe

The most popular way of making Chashu Pork is to use a log of rolled pork belly. However, I find the rolled pieces of Chashu Pork to be a bit too big and difficult to eat with chopsticks. And as rolled pork belly is a large piece of meat, I find it a bit more difficult and cumbersome to cook.

For Chashu Pork, I prefer to use simple pork belly slabs, about 600 g/1.3 lb in size each. When using pork belly slabs, you require less liquid to cook the meat. Plus, the resulting slices of Chashu Pork are much easier to eat with chopsticks later.

Most ramen joints will typically cook the pork belly in the ramen broth – both require a slow cooking time at a low temperature, and the pork will add additional flavour and savouriness to the broth.

My recipe for Chashu Pork cooks the meat separately in a soy sauce braise so that the meat can be infused with all of the salty umami flavours, which will help it later to caramelise better when you prepare it for serving.

How to Make Chashu Pork

Making Chashu Pork will take about 3 hours. However, during this time, very little effort is required on your part.

You will need to start this recipe at least a day before serving.

Step 1

Choose a saucepan which will fit the piece of pork snugly, and which also has a tight-fitting lid.

Heat some vegetable oil in the pan, and sear the pork on all sides until it is lightly caramelised.

Add the soy sauce, caster sugar, mirin and sake. Top up with enough boiling water cover the pork.

Add the spring onions (scallions), ginger and garlic.

Cook on low heat for 3 hours, turning the pork belly over 2 or 3 times during this time.

After 3 hours, remove the saucepan from the stove, and set it aside to cool completely. Place the saucepan in the fridge overnight.

Step 2

The next day, take the saucepan out of the fridge.

Use a spoon to remove and discard the layer of fat.

Remove the pork belly from the cold broth. Use a sharp knife to cut slices which are about 0.5 cm thick.

Step 3

To caramelise the chashu pork, place a non-stick saucepan on medium-high heat. Place the pork slices in the saucepan – there is no need for oil as the pork belly slices will release their own fat. Cook until the pork is nicely caramelised on both sides. Serve immediately.

How to Freeze Chashu Pork

I like to freeze any leftover Chashu Pork by slicing them and storing them in a single layer in freezer bags, which will allow for quick and easy thawing later.

I use a vacuum-sealer for freezing food, so I generally freeze 4 to 6 slices of Chashu Pork per bag, which is a good serving for one.

To reheat, either defrost the pork in the fridge overnight, or on a low setting in the microwave until it is just thawed. Cook the pork as per the recipe below.

What to Do With the Leftover Braising Liquid

The leftover braising liquid is liquid gold! So don’t throw it away as you can use it as a “master stock”. Here are some ideas for re-using this braising liquid:

1. Freeze the braising liquid to use the next time you make Chashu Pork. The liquid will become more concentrated in flavour each time you use it, so add more water as needed to the defrosted braising liquid.
2. Freeze the braising liquid in ice-cube trays to use for the following ideas.
3. Use a few tablespoons or ice-cubes to season a Shoyu Ramen broth.
4. Use a few tablespoons or ice-cubes to season a stir-fry.
5. Use the braising liquid to marinate soft-boiled eggs to make Soy Sauce Eggs or Ramen Eggs. Simply peel some soft-boiled eggs (cooked for 7 minutes in boiling water for a jammy centre) and steep them in the braising liquid overnight in the fridge.

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