← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 400 g pork belly block
• 1.5 l water, plus extra for the first boil
• 15 g bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
• 2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Soy sauce
• 2 tsp Mirin
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp black sugar or dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp awamori or sake
• 2 tbsp Water
• 3 portions Okinawa soba noodles (or thick fresh ramen or udon), about 120 g each
• 6 slices kamaboko fish cake
• 2 Spring onion, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp beni shoga (pickled red ginger)

Method

1. Put the pork in a pot, cover with water, bring to the boil and cook for 5 min. Drain and rinse off the scum.
2. Return the pork to the clean pot with 1.5 l water. Simmer gently, half covered, for 1 hour, skimming now and then, until a chopstick goes in easily. Lift out the pork and keep the cooking liquid: this is your broth base.
3. Bring the pork liquid back to a simmer, add the bonito flakes, turn off the heat and steep for 5 min. Strain, then season with the salt, soy sauce and mirin. It should taste clean and gently salty.
4. Slice the pork 1 cm thick. Simmer the slices with the glaze ingredients in a small pan over medium heat for 8–10 min, turning, until the liquid is syrupy and the pork is lacquered.
5. Cook the noodles as the packet says, drain and divide between deep bowls.
6. Pour the hot broth over the noodles and top with the glazed pork, fish cake, spring onion and red ginger.

Tips

• On Okinawa, tables carry koregusu (chillies steeped in awamori) to splash on top; a few drops of chilli oil is a good stand-in.
• Pork spare ribs braised the same way turn this into soki soba.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook RecipeTin Japan