Chashu Pork

Chashu Pork is meltingly tender pork belly that’s been slow-braised in an intense blend of soy sauce, sweet mirin, ginger, garlic and green onions. It’s an essential topping at any ramen house and, with this much simplified method, it’s easy to make at home.

When you’ve seen other chashu pork recipes, the meat may have been tightly rolled with twine into a spiral. Though very pretty, it requires large cuts of pork belly (2 pounds or more) and a bit of time and skill to roll and tie it properly. Here I’m using a smaller cut (just 1 pound) with a shorter cooking time and no rolling required, all of the flavor and none of the fuss.

Ingredients You Need to Make Chashu Pork

• Pork Belly: skin-on or skinless thick cut of even thickness
• Soy Sauce: or tamari for a gluten free version
• Mirin: You can also use sake, but you’ll want to add an extra tablespoon of sugar.
• Sugar: granulated white sugar
• Oil: neutral flavored, high heat vegetable oil such as avocado oil
• Garlic: Look for a plump, firm head of garlic with smooth skin and large cloves.
• Green Onions: or spring onions when they’re in season
• Ginger: fresh ginger root, powdered ginger isn’t a good substitute here

If you’ve had Tonkotsu (meaning “pork bones”) ramen before, with it’s rich pork bone broth, you already know chashu pork, the tender slices of pork belly served on top. It’s traditionally made by rolling the meat into a log and braising it ‘low and slow’ for many hours, then chilling overnight. The next day it’s thinly sliced and warmed before serving.

What is chashu?

Chashu, the Japanese name for this dish, actually comes from the Cantonese dish “char-siu,” meaning “fork roasted.” Though the names and some of the flavors are similar, the dishes are prepared differently. Cantonese char-siu is roasted after marinating in a sweet sauce with five spice powder and often red food dye. By contrast, Japanese chashu is braised low and slow in a sweet and salty mixture, often with aromatics like ginger and garlic, but without five spice powder or food dye. 

Not Just for Ramen

Don’t limit the use of your chashu to just soup. Though this unctuous, melt-in-your-mouth meat is the ideal topping for Pork Belly Ramen, weeknight easy Homemade Ramen or with Miso Ramen Broth or Shoyu Ramen Broth (with Homemade Ramen Noodles!), it’s also wonderful served over udon, soba or rice noodles, over rice (chashu don) with braised vegetables and Soy Sauce Eggs, eaten alone as you would Korean Pork Belly, or as a chashu pork sandwiches on brioche slider buns, i.e., Pork Belly Sliders. 

And once you’ve chilled your chashu overnight, don’t throw away the braising liquid! Just skim off the fat and reserve the liquid to kick up the flavor in all kinds of Asian soups, steamed vegetables, noodle and stir-fry dishes, and rice bowls. It freezes well too if you don’t want to use it right away.

Skinless vs. Skin-On

Either cut works well with this recipe, but note that skinless pork belly will render more fat as it braises and you’ll end up with less fatty slices. With skin-on pork belly, the meat may curl as it braises (as in this Braised Pork Belly recipe). If it does, cook 30 minutes per side during the final hour of braising instead of flipping it completely. 

Storage Tips

Enjoy your chashu pork within 3 or 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

How to Make Chashu Pork

Step 1: Combine braising liquid ingredients: water, soy sauce, mirin and sugar; stir until sugar dissolves.

Step 2: Sear pork belly on all sides in hot oil in an oven safe pot. Remove from heat; add aromatics (ginger, garlic and green onions) and pour braising liquid over. Cover and cook, fat / skin-side down in an oven preheated to 250˚F for 1 1/2 hours. Flip meat and cook 1 hour more.

Step 3: Transfer meat to a smaller container and pour braising liquid over. Once it cools, cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, transfer the meat to a cutting board and thinly slice. Pan fry over medium heat until lightly golden and serve as desired.