Just Hungry

This is interesting, because I just tried a recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop’s book on Sichuan Cookery (I think it has a different title in the USA) called bowl-steamed belly pork with pickled vegetables. I didn’t have quite the right picked vegetable. There are black beans in it too.

Great Bento blog!

My parents are from Taiwan, and every now and then my mother will make something like this—it’s fairly easy, and it’ll keep you fed for a few days. When I was a little kid, I didn’t like it at all, but now, at the ripe old age of 24, I find it absolutely wonderful, the way the pork melts in your mouth. It’s making me drool right now, especially since I’m in the grad school dorms.

Oh, and the bento site is awesome! I used a bento box when I worked in Japan last year, but the meals never looked as good as these!

The one exquisite Chinese pork belly recipe is called Tungpo Pork.

I swear I’m not stalking you online. But your recipes are great! It is very similar to the Chinese version my mom makes, but because some spices are not available in Australia I tried your version with some substitution for the sake. I made a big batch, but chickened out at the last moment, removing the skin from half the pork. The fatty bits really had the melt in the mouth goodness - the part I removed the fat from was still good but slightly less juicy. Sigh … I think I’m going to add some hardboiled eggs. I also cheated for this one, with 30 min pressure cooker (liquid doesn’t reduce) and then another 15 min simmering to reduce the liquid after it was more tender. I only used 2 cups of water despite doubling the meat. Perfection.

I am keen on trying this recipe. May I know how big the 1 large piece of ginger should be? Thanks.

I have read about your mother having IBD.

That´s my problem too. I have the Crohn´s Disease and my body reacts badly to any kind of animal protein.

Similiar reaction like when you have an infect with germs you could say, but attacking the body cells.

And yes, stress is a big problem.
No wonder when you know that the brain developed from the same part of the fetus where the intestines are also formed.
The digestive tract is a more primitive brain in the meaning of reaction to feelings..and that means reaction to hormones.

And because animal produced hormones are so similiar to human ones(doping/medication) it is only logical that the colon also reacts to stress hormones found in animal products, not only the one the body produces itself.

My granny is now in her 80´s and still has her own little house with garden..hope your mother will be so lucky/healthy too.

I got the IBD from both parts of the family..in the time my grandfather had it, it was not diagnosed as such. IBD is relatively new, but i made some family research myself and with the things i found i can tell that the health problems which run in my family came from IBD.

Hopefully you did not get it from your mom

Oh I love Buta No Kakuni! I was so surprised when I first had it because it was tender enough to be separated with chopsticks. I'm looking forward to making this recipe again! Thanks so much!

That looks absolutely delicious! Braising a pork belly must be a typically asian thing to do, as there is a filipino dish that looks very similar, called humba. So tender that you can cut the skin (gotta leave it on!) with a spoon. You are so right about needing lots of hot, plain rice -- it's simply essential and I couldn't imagine anything else with which to pair it.

I had this at a local japanese restaurant and today, for some reason, I began craving pork belly and immediately thought of this dish. I did not what it was called so I just googled "Japanese Pork Belly" and sure enough, I ran into this page. I look forward to trying this recipe!

ps- your mom is adorable!!!

I made this dish last night and it was Awesome! You are so right about having plenty of steamed rice. I served it with sauted Bok Choy fantastic!!!

Hello! I recently found your site, and was very excited to see Japanese food recipes in English, because I live in Japan and have always wanted to make more Japanese food. My Japanese boyfriend loves buta no kakuni, so I thought I would try and make this for him. Unfortunately though, I think I must have done something wrong. I followed your directions exactly, but all that I ended up with at the end of 3 hours was really tough, over-boiled meat; not tender or juicy at all. Is there something I can do to prevent that?? My boyfriend doesn't think you can make good kakuni in only 3 hours--he makes really good kakuni, but it takes 6~10 hours! (Of course, in a pressure cooker it only takes 30 min, but we don't have one...) Please give me any advice you have!

I make this recipe every 2-3 months. It's absolutely great, but so rich I can't eat it often. Thank you so much for posting it.

I've found that while it's very good after braising for 3 hours or so, it's so much better if you refrigerate it and have it the next day.