Chashu (Pork Belly)

The origin of chashu came from Chinese barbecued pork called Char Siu . 
Traditionally Chinese char siu is marinated in soy sauce, honey, hoisin sauce, rice wine, five spice powder and red food coloring, and then roasted in a covered oven or barbecued over a fire.
Typically, chashu is prepared by rolling the pork belly into a log with butcher’s twine for the shape as well as keeping the pork moist.
Chashu

Ingredients

• ¾ lb pork belly block
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• ½ Tbsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
• 2 inch ginger (sliced)
• 1 Tokyo negi (or leaks/green onions)

Seasonings

• ⅔ cup water
• ⅓ cup sake
• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Cut negi into 2 inch lengths and separate the green parts and white parts. For white parts, make an incision lengthwise and remove the soft green core. Keep it with the green part, which will be used later on for cooking.
3. Stack up the white part of negi and slice thinly. Soak in cold water for 10 minutes and drain well. Put it in an air-tight container or cover with plastic wrap. We will use this for garnishing chashu later.
4. Peel and slice ginger.
5. Sprinkle and rub the salt on the pork belly. If your pork belly block is big, you have two options. Cut into smaller pieces or roll it into a log with butcher’s twine, keeping the thick fat on the outside. Start tying from the center of the log toward left and right.
6. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet (or regular frying pan) over high heat and brown the fat side first, then flip over to brown the other side. It’ll take about 10 minutes.
7. While browning, put all the ingredients for seasonings in a heavy-bottom pot (or regular pot).
8. Place the pork belly in the pot and add ginger and negi and bring it to a boil.
9. Place an otoshibuta (drop lid) on top of the meat. If you don’t have one, make one out of aluminum foil (and here’s how). Do not use a regular lid. 
10. Lower the heat to medium low and simmer, occasionally turning, for about one hour or until there is ¼ inch liquid left in the pot.
11. Remove the otoshibuta and reduce the sauce until you can see the bottom of the pot when you scrape the sauce. Stay in the kitchen as the meat can easily get burnt if there is no liquid left. After 15-20 minutes or so, bubbles start to appear. You are getting close to the end. Turn off the heat when you see the bottom of the pot when you slide the meat around. The sauce is now thickened and meat is shiny.
12. Take out the meat and cut into thin slices.
13. This is an optional step, but use a propane torch or broiler to sear each slice of pork belly to enhance the flavor.
14. Transfer to a serving plate and top with Shiraga Negi and Shichimi Togarashi. Or serve with ramen.
15. If you don’t use the chashu right away, pack the chashu and the sauce in an air-tight plastic bag to give it more flavor all around. You can store it in the refrigerator up to 5 days and 3 weeks in the freezer.

https://www.justonecookbook.com/homemade-chashu/