Thinly Sliced Chashu (Marinated Braised Pork Belly)

Chashu—slow-braised marinated pork belly—is a much-loved ramen topping. The glistening pork is used in many styles of ramen and is often served thinly sliced, floating near the top of bowl. Today I’m going to show you how to make chashu.

Ramen is a slow art. Making a bowl of ramen can be a multi-day affair—the stock alone can take days. It takes time to develop the flavors from each of the ingredients. If you’re in Japan, you can let the experts do the work and grab a quick meal at a ramen shop; however, if you’re in America and aren’t lucky enough to have a quality ramen restaurant near you, then you might want to invest the time and energy to make it yourself. Plus, it’s fun learning how dishes are made and cooking them at home (at least, I think so)!

Chashu doesn’t require a lot of active cooking time; however, it is a slow process and should not be rushed. Chashu is braised in an oven at a low temperature for several hours in a marinade consisting of water, soy sauce, sake (a Japanese rice wine), mirin (a low-alcohol, sweet Japanese rice wine), garlic, ginger, scallions, and shallots.

How to Make Chashu (Marinated Braised Pork Belly)

Raw Slab of Pork Belly

To make chashu, you begin with pork belly. So what is pork belly exactly? It’s the fatty meat from the underside of the pig. It’s actually made from the same part of the pig as bacon, but unlike bacon, it hasn’t been cured, smoked, or salted. Asian markets will sell pork belly, as will butcher shops and some grocery stores.

Rolled and Trussed Pork Belly for Chashu

The first step to making chashu is to roll and truss the pork belly. This serves a couple of functions. It helps the meat hold its shape and it traps in moisture during the cooking process, which produces a juicer, more tender piece of meat.

To do this: roll the pork belly lengthwise with the skin facing out. Carefully tie butcher’s twine around the rolled pork belly in ¾ inch increments.

Rolled and Trussed Pork Belly in Braising Liquid

The next step is to make the braising liquid. Combine the water, soy sauce, sake, mirin, garlic, ginger, scallions, and shallots in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the trussed pork belly to the pan. Loosely cover the pan and transfer it into a preheated oven, where it will slowly braise for 3 to 4 hours. Make sure to turn the pork occasionally throughout the cooking process. 

Chashu – Marinated Braised Pork Belly

Once the chashu is tender, remove it from the oven. Transfer the pork belly and the marinade into a container and allow it to cool in the fridge. Once cool, remove the chashu and prepare it for use. It can be used for many dishes and doesn’t have to be restricted to ramen alone. How you cut the chashu depends on how you’re using it. If using for ramen, thinly slice the chashu. You can slice it thickly and make chashu bao or you can dice it and add it to fried rice.

Do you have a favorite use for pork belly? Let me know in the comments. 🙂

Chashu (Marinated Braised Pork Belly) Recipe

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Serves	6-8
Region	Japanese
Website	slightly adapted from Serious Eats

Chashu—slow-braised marinated pork belly—is a much-loved ramen topping. Today I’m going to show you how to make chashu with step-by-step instructions.

Ingredients

• 2 pound slab of boneless pork belly, skin-on
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup sake
• 1 cup mirin
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 scallions (roughly chopped)
• 6 whole garlic cloves
• One 2-inch knob ginger (roughly sliced)
• 1 whole shallot (split in half, skin on)

Directions

Step 1

Roll the pork belly lengthwise with the skin facing out. Carefully tie butcher’s twine around the rolled pork belly in ¾ inch increments.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 275°F. Combine the water, soy sauce, sake, mirin, garlic, ginger, scallions, and shallot in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the trussed pork belly to the pan (it won't be submerged). Loosely cover the pan and transfer it into the preheated oven. Slowly braise for 3 to 4 hours, turning occasionally, until pork is fully tender and a thin knife inserted into its center meets little resistance.

Step 3

Once the chashu is tender, remove it from the oven. Transfer the pork belly and the marinade into a container and allow it to cool in the fridge. Once cool, remove the chashu and prepare it for use.

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