Sprig Originals's kitchen / Melt-in-Your-Mouth Soy-Braised Pork Belly
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Soy-Braised Pork Belly
By Sprig Originals · cooked up in Sprig
Worked out from this recipe's ingredients. If you're cooking for an allergy, always read the full ingredient list.
Pork belly that normally needs three hours of gentle simmering turns spoon-tender in 45 minutes under pressure. Cubes are browned in the pot, then pressure-cooked in a sweet-salty bath of soy, mirin, sake and ginger, and the cooking liquid gets boiled down into a glossy glaze. Nine ingredients, one pot, and a bowl of rice is all you need.
Ingredients
Pork
- 2 lb skinless pork belly, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
Braising liquid
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup mirin
- 1/4 cup sake or dry sherry
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into coins
- 5 scallions, whites halved and greens thinly sliced
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté on high and add the oil. Brown the pork belly cubes in two batches, 4 to 5 minutes per batch, turning until deeply golden on at least two sides. Return all the pork to the pot and press Cancel.
- Add the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, water, ginger coins and scallion whites. Stir once to dissolve the sugar and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom.
- Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and cook on High Pressure for 45 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then move the valve to Venting to release the rest.
- Lift the pork out with a slotted spoon onto a plate. Spoon or skim the layer of clear fat off the surface of the liquid and discard it, along with the ginger and scallion whites.
- Set the pot to Sauté on high and boil the liquid, stirring now and then, for 8 to 12 minutes, until reduced to about 1 cup and thick enough to coat a spoon. Press Cancel, return the pork, and turn gently to glaze.
- Serve over hot steamed rice with the glaze spooned over and the sliced scallion greens scattered on top.
Chef's tips
- For the cleanest sauce, make it a day ahead: refrigerate the pork in its unreduced liquid, lift off the solid fat cap, then reheat and reduce.
- No sake or sherry? Use an extra 1/4 cup water plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar.
- Halved soft-boiled eggs warmed in the finished glaze for a few minutes turn this into the classic ramen-shop version.
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
720calories
29gprotein
18gcarbs
58gfat
Estimates only — values vary with brands and portions.
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