Name: Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Braised Pork Belly)
Cuisine: 和食
Ingredients: 500g+ Pork belly block; 1400ml Water; 100ml Tsuyu (3x concentrate); 2–4 tbsp Sugar (brown sugar recommended); 20g Red miso (Sakura miso); Cooking sake; Mirin; Soy sauce; Boiled eggs; 1 Burdock root; Green onion; 2 slices Ginger; Salt; Vegetable oil; Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach); Karashi (Japanese mustard)

About "Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Braised Pork Belly)"

Introducing three unique recipes for Buta no Kakuni (Braised Pork Belly) by Chef Nonaga of Nihonbashi Yukari, Chef Kobayashi of Seika Kobayashi, and culinary researcher Kojima Pon-suke. Each chef uses a different professional approach—such as searing in a pan to lock in umami, adding depth with red miso and brown sugar, or creating a rich aroma through caramelization—to achieve the ultimate melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.

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Tips for Making "Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Braised Pork Belly)"

Prep
- Choosing pork belly: Select meat with balanced marbling and identical patterns on both sides to ensure even shrinkage during cooking.
Heat control
- Parboiling from cold water allows proteins to pass slowly through the 60°C range, preventing the meat from toughening.
Searing
- Sprinkling salt before searing creates a gap with the fat, helping it brown to a beautiful golden color.
Flavor & Aroma
- The acidity of red miso sharpens the overall flavor, while caramelization adds a rich aroma and deep complexity.
Seasoning ratio
- Combining sake, mirin, and soy sauce in equal parts (4 tbsp each) makes it foolproof to adjust to your preferred richness.
Simmering
- Use a paper towel or foil drop lid and simmer gently over low heat, avoiding a violent boil.

Ingredients for "Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Braised Pork Belly)"

16 items

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500g+Pork belly block
1400mlWater
100mlTsuyu (3x concentrate)
2–4tbsp Sugar (brown sugar recommended)
20gRed miso (Sakura miso)
Cookingsake
Mirin
Soysauce
Boiledeggs
1Burdock root
Greenonion
2slices Ginger
Salt
Vegetableoil
Komatsuna(Japanese mustard spinach)
Karashi(Japanese mustard)

How to Make "Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Braised Pork Belly)"

1
[Recipe by Chef Nonaga of Nihonbashi Yukari]
2
Sear the pork belly
Place the pork belly skin-side down in a cold frying pan and sear slowly over medium heat. Cook until the fat renders out clear and the skin becomes crispy and golden brown. Lightly sear the sides as well to lock in the juices.
Searing instead of parboiling keeps the umami from escaping.Save the rendered fat as lard to use in other dishes.
3
Cut the meat and prepare the braising liquid
Cut the seared pork belly into slices about 1.5 cm wide. In the pan, mix 1400ml of water, 100ml of 3x concentrated tsuyu, 2 tbsp of sugar, and 20g of red miso.
The acidity of the red miso gives the overall flavor a sharp, clean finish.
4
Add meat and vegetables, then simmer
Add the meat, boiled eggs, and 1 burdock root (cut into bite-sized chunks) to the braising liquid. Cover with a paper towel (with a hole cut in the center) as a drop lid (otoshibuta). Bring to a boil (about 10 minutes), then simmer gently over low heat for 1 hour. It is done when the liquid reduces by more than half and thickens.
Using a drop lid ensures even heating.Using brown sugar adds depth and richness.
5
[Recipe by Chef Kobayashi of Seika Kobayashi]
6
Select and cut the pork belly
Choose pork belly with well-balanced marbling where the patterns on both sides look similar. Cut into slightly elongated rectangles rather than perfect squares, keeping in mind that the meat will shrink during cooking.
Balanced fat distribution ensures even shrinkage during cooking.
7
Sear the pork belly to render the fat
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Sprinkle salt on the side of the meat to be seared, then place it face down. Sear over medium heat for about 10 minutes until all sides are well-browned. Discard all excess rendered fat.
Sprinkling salt creates a gap with the fat, helping it sear to a beautiful golden brown.The process of 'using fat to extract fat' removes excess grease.
8
Add aromatics to remove gamey odor
Add the green onion and 2 ginger slices to the pan and stir-fry briefly to eliminate any gamey odor from the pork.
Aromatics remove the meat's gamey odor.
9
Prepare the liquid and simmer directly
Add water, sake, and sugar to a pot, bring to a boil over high heat, then add soy sauce. Skim off any scum thoroughly, add the pork, cover with a double layer of aluminum foil (with a hole in the center) as a drop lid, put the pot lid on, and simmer gently over low heat for 1 to 1.5 hours.
Using a generous amount of sugar highlights a rich sweetness.An aluminum foil drop lid ensures even cooking.
10
Finish and plate
Prepare the karashi mustard while cooking. Warming the bowl with hot water before mixing the mustard powder dramatically enhances its aroma. Add komatsuna to the pot to cook briefly, then plate beautifully.
Warming karashi mustard brings out its aroma.
11
[Recipe by Kojima Pon-suke]
12
Parboil the pork belly starting from cold water
Start boiling the block of pork belly in cold water. Slowly passing through the 60°C range, where meat proteins begin to solidify, prevents the meat from toughening. Boil without a lid to let the gamey odor escape with the steam. Once boiling, reduce to low heat and parboil for 1 hour while skimming off scum.
Slowly heating from cold water keeps the meat tender.Leaving the lid off allows odors to escape easily.
13
Cut the meat and make the caramelization
Cut the parboiled meat into your desired size. Heat sugar in a pot, letting it caramelize to a brown color (aiming for around 180°C). Gradually add water to dissolve it, creating a rich caramel-like aroma and deep flavor.
Caramelization brings out a rich aroma and deep flavor.
14
Add seasonings and simmer
Add cooking sake, mirin, and soy sauce to the caramelized sugar water—4 tbsp each (equal parts). Return the cut pork to the liquid and add enough water to slightly submerge the meat. Cover with a paper towel drop lid and simmer over low heat for another hour. Maintain a heat level that prevents violent boiling.
Using equal parts of seasonings makes it foolproof to adjust to your preferred richness.Simmer over low heat to avoid reducing the liquid too much.
15
Reduce and finish
After 1 hour, remove the drop lid, turn the heat to high, and reduce the sauce by about half until the meat has a beautiful glaze. Plate and top with julienned green onion (shiraga negi) to serve.
Reduce over high heat to create a glossy glaze.

Food Science

Why This Dish Tastes So Good

The combination of inosinate in pork and glutamate in tsuyu, soy sauce, and red miso creates an umami synergy, producing a deep richness. Additionally, the sweetness of sugar and mirin harmonizes beautifully with the saltiness and umami of soy sauce and miso, balancing the five basic tastes. Furthermore, slow cooking transforms the collagen in the pork into gelatin, resulting in an incredibly tender texture.

Umami compoundsBalance of basic tastesTemperature & thermal reactions

Detailed Commentary on "Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Braised Pork Belly)"

* Content organized by topics from the video.

Chef Nonaga: Pan-Searing and Saving Lard

Chef Kisio Nonaga of Nihonbashi Yukari proposes a Buta no Kakuni recipe that can be easily made in a single frying pan without using a pressure cooker. The first key point is to place the pork belly skin-side down in a cold frying pan and sear it slowly over medium heat. While typical recipes start by parboiling the meat, Chef Nonaga points out that 'boiling first lets the umami escape, leaving the meat dry.' Searing instead locks in the flavor. As you cook, a large amount of clear fat will render out from the meat. This fat is premium lard. Instead of wiping it away with paper towels and discarding it, Chef Nonaga strongly recommends saving it in a heatproof container. Once cooled, this lard solidifies into a pure white fat that acts as an incredibly versatile seasoning, dramatically elevating stir-fries or ramen toppings. Once the skin is crispy and golden brown, lightly sear the sides of the meat to seal in the juices.

Chef Nonaga: Red Miso, Brown Sugar, & Simmering

Once the pork belly is seared and cut into 1.5 cm slices, it's time for seasoning. The secret weapon in Chef Nonaga's recipe is adding 20g of red miso (or Sakura miso). The natural acidity of the red miso cuts through the richness, giving the dish a sharp, appetizing finish. In the pan, mix 1400ml of water, 100ml of 3x concentrated tsuyu, 2 tbsp of sugar, and the red miso. Add the meat, boiled eggs, and 1 burdock root cut into chunks. The earthy aroma of burdock root pairs beautifully with pork. Cover with a paper towel (with a hole cut in the center) as a drop lid, bring to a boil for about 10 minutes, then simmer gently over low heat for 1 hour. At his restaurant, Chef Nonaga uses brown sugar instead of white sugar to add depth and richness. Once the liquid reduces by more than half and thickens into a rich glaze, it's ready. The pork becomes so tender it melts in your mouth, making it impossible to stop eating with rice.

Chef Kobayashi: Selecting Meat & Rendering Fat

Chef Yuji Kobayashi of Seika Kobayashi, a restaurant that consistently holds two Michelin stars, teaches how to recreate professional-grade Kakuni at home. First and foremost is how to choose the pork belly. Chef Kobayashi advises selecting meat with well-balanced marbling (fat distribution) and identical patterns on both the front and back. This ensures the meat shrinks evenly during cooking, maintaining a beautiful shape. When cutting, the trick is to slice them into slightly elongated rectangles rather than perfect squares, anticipating the shrinkage. For cooking, heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, sprinkle salt on the side of the meat to be seared, place it face down, and cook over medium heat. Salting creates a small gap between the pan and the fat, making it easier to achieve a beautiful golden brown. Salt the other side as well and sear all sides thoroughly for about 10 minutes. This process uses the meat's own fat to draw out excess grease—literally 'using fat to extract fat.'

Chef Kobayashi: Direct Simmering & Warm Mustard

Once all sides are golden brown, discard all the excess fat accumulated in the pan. Add green onion and 2 ginger slices to the pan and stir-fry briefly to eliminate any gamey odor from the pork. To make it easy at home, this recipe uses a 'direct simmering' method where seasonings are added from the start rather than parboiling in water first. Add water, sake, and sugar to a pot, bring to a boil over high heat, then add soy sauce. Using a generous amount of sugar highlights a rich, satisfying sweetness. Thoroughly skim off any scum, cover with a double layer of aluminum foil (with a hole in the center) as a drop lid, put the pot lid on, and simmer gently over low heat for 1 to 1.5 hours. Meanwhile, prepare the karashi mustard. Warming the bowl with hot water before mixing the mustard powder dramatically enhances its aroma. To finish, add cut komatsuna to the pot to cook briefly, then plate beautifully.

Kojima Pon-suke: Cold Parboiling & Caramelization

Culinary researcher Kojima Pon-suke uses a scientific approach to make a foolproof Kakuni. The ingredients are simple: 500g pork belly, cooking sake, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce. First, to prevent the meat fibers from shrinking and toughening, start parboiling the pork belly block in cold water rather than hot water. Slowly heating the meat through the 60°C range—where proteins begin to solidify—keeps it tender. Additionally, boil without a lid to allow the pork's gamey odor to escape with the steam. Once it boils, reduce to low heat and parboil for 1 hour while skimming off scum. Cut the cooked meat into your desired size, and then apply the ultimate secret technique: caramelization. Heat sugar in a pot until it caramelizes to a brown color, aiming for around 180°C. Gradually add water to dissolve it, creating a rich caramel-like aroma and deep flavor that tastes like it came from a professional restaurant.

Kojima Pon-suke: Equal-Part Seasoning & Glazing

Add cooking sake, mirin, and soy sauce to the caramelized sugar water. The golden ratio for the seasonings is incredibly simple: exactly 4 tbsp of each. By keeping the measurements equal, you can easily adjust the final richness just by reducing the sauce, making it completely foolproof. Return the cut pork to the liquid and add enough water to slightly submerge the meat. To prevent the meat from floating and drying out, cover with a paper towel drop lid and simmer over low heat for another 1 hour. It is crucial to maintain a gentle heat that does not violently boil the liquid so it doesn't reduce too quickly. After an hour, remove the drop lid, turn the heat to high, and reduce the sauce by about half until the meat has a beautiful glaze. Plate and top with a mound of shiraga negi (julienned green onion). With excess fat and odor removed during parboiling, and wrapped in the rich depth of caramelization, this Kakuni is incredibly tender and sure to delight anyone.

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