Kakuni is a Japanese dish consisting of braised cubes of pork belly in this sweet soy-based broth, usually served with a braised egg and mustard. I came to really love this dish over the past year, when I first had it at a Japanese restaurant in Torrance, then again almost a week later when I was in Berlin and was getting lunch with a friend, and ever since then, it just became a go-to dish whenever it’s on the menu. The first time I ordered it was at Inaba restaurant, at the end of November 2023. 2023 started out as a very fun year for me – I was traveling a lot, hanging out with friends, creating so many core memories. Then I got stuck dealing with a lot of work that basically derailed a lot of my own plans and without getting into too many details, life got stressful and exhaustive. I spent many nights not knowing what to expect the next day. Every day was draining. But getting a bowlful of kakuni, it was literally what my body was craving after being beaten down emotionally, mentally, and to a degree, physically(I did fracture my wrist earlier that month because of said unanticipated additional work). The pork was soft and tender, the eggs added a nice bite that when paired with the pork, was reminiscent of lu rou fan, and that broth was so addictive with the smoky, salty, and sweet that I could have just had downed a cup of that on its own. So kakuni represents to me much needed comfort and warmth. I can say that the stress-inducing work is long behind me now(thank goodness because again, without going into too many details, I was drained), I can say that those moments helped me become extremely gracious for delicious food, good company, and unforgettable memories. To the point that when I got ahold of some pork belly, I wanted to make it myself! So this recipe is my rendition on Japanese kakuni.

Typical recipes for kakuni will call for you to sear or render the pork belly before braising it. I opted to poach the pork belly then braise it, just because I wanted it to be really, really tender and cooking it in only wet-cooking methods really ensures that. That and I actually recycled the initial poaching water from the pork to soft-boil my eggs with, just to keep this to a two-pot recipe. I did use a raft, or whipped egg white, to later clarify the broth and remove the excess fat, resulting in a clearer, lighter broth. To add a nutty, earthy flavor that plays off the soy sauce, I used mugicha, or barley tea, which adds a warming feeling to the broth, just to up that comforting feeling of the dish. The broth itself is layered with so many ingredients, most of which are used to add umami to the dish. I really was aiming for this warming, comforting, savory-sweet-smoky broth that the pork belly just soaked up. In terms of the time-investment on this dish, it is 100% a low and slow cooking process. Do not expect this to be something that you can just make in a 60-minute cook(maybe with a pressure cooker, but I just did this with a pot on the stove). With the eggs, I have seen variations where the kakuni is served with braised eggs, other times with soft-boiled eggs. I prefer a jammier-centered egg for this recipe, so I opted to make these marinated soft-boiled eggs that absorb similar flavors to the pork belly broth itself. Traditionally, Japanese mustard is served with kakuni for a little spice and heat, but I opted to omit that, not because I wanted to, but because I just did not have any on hand – I would totally recommend serving this with a little mustard, since that biting heat actually cuts through the richness of the dish gorgeously. All in all, this is a perfect dish for the winter, and it is one I plan to make and look forward to as the sun sets earlier and the weather gets a little colder(well, cold for California standards).

For the braised pork belly:
1/2 lb pork belly, cut into 1/2-inch by 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 tsp canola oil
1g kombu, roasted
1 scallion, cut in half lengthwise
1 tsp instant dashi powder
5g dried shiitake mushrooms
20g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp cooking sake
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 2oz satchel of mugicha
water*
1 egg white

In a pot filled with boiling water, gently boil the pork belly cubes until they turn a grey-brown color on the exterior and any scummy blood bits or liquid begin to coagulate at the top of the water. In another pot, start by placing in your canola oil, kombu, scallion, dashi, shiitake, and ginger into the bottom of the pot. Heat up your ingredients on medium-low heat for 2 minutes before deglazing with the mirin and cooking sake first. Then add to that the soy sauce, honey, and mugicha satchel. Place into that pot the pork belly cubes. Then add to that enough water to submerge the pork cubes. Simmer the pork in the pot on medium-low heat, with the lid on, for 90 minutes.

After 90 minutes, remove the lid, fish out the satchel of mugicha, and bring the liquid to a boil on high heat and cook the pork for another 30 minutes. Fish out the pork first, placing it into a small, clean pot. Then whisk an egg white and pour that into the pot and lower the heat to low again. Allow the egg white to solidify before pouring the contents of the pot through a sieve and the liquid into the bowl that contained the pork – this will remove any of the residual fat and solids from the broth, leaving a cleaner liquid to serve the pork with. Reheat the pork in the strained liquid right before serving.

For the soft-boiled eggs:
4 eggs, unpeeled
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp instant dashi powder
water*

In a pot filled with boiling water, gently lower the eggs into the water and place on the pot lid. Boil on high heat with the lid on for 50 seconds. Then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and gently simmer for another 6 minutes, still with the lid on. Take the eggs out of the water and submerge them in cold water for 10 seconds. Gently tap the flatter end of the eggs against a flat surface to crack that part of the shell, and then re-submerge the eggs in the cold water for another minute. Afterwards, gently peel the egg shells off the eggs.

In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and mirin together. Pour the liquid into a clean tupperware and add to that your eggs. Add in just enough water to allow the eggs to be fully submerged in the liquid. Store the eggs in the refrigerator and allow the eggs to marinate for at least 1 hour before cutting in half and serving with the pork.