CNY Chef: Miso Braised Fatty Pork with Soy Beans by

CNY Chef: Miso Braised Fatty Pork with Soy Beans from Daisuke Onishi of Toratori-ya

Vincent R. Vinci, Managing Editor | Feb 4, 2022 2:30 pm | Add a comment | 90 reads

You be the cook this Spring Festival with CNY Chef! Follow a new recipe each day of the holiday courtesy of one of the capital's top chefs.

Today’s recipe comes to us from Daisuke Onishi, the Japanese partner of contemporary izakaya Toratori-ya.

It’s Daisuke’s 3rd Chinese New Year in Beijing of his 20 years spent in China. He often goes with his wife to her hometown of Weihai in Shandong to spend the New Year.

In Weihai, it’s all about the seafood. Specifically buckets of steamed oysters, clams, and local scampi paired with vinegar and ginger or a vinegarette consisting of chopped coriander, ginger, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and a dash of honey. A truly lovely treat!

Daisuke always makes red braised pork (红烧肉 Hóngshāo ròu) for his family over CNY, but at Toritori-ya it’s made with a special twist that’s perfect for those at home to experiment with over the holiday: a Japanese version of hongshaorou with no spices but which goes well over a bed of rice!

Miso Braised Fatty Pork with Soy Beans

Ingredients A

500g Block of Pork Belly (without skin)
50g Dried Soy Beans

Ingredients B

2 tbsp Miso
4 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Sugar
50 ml Sake or Korean Soju
200 ml Water
3 slices of ginger with the skin on
2 bits of 5 cm long Spring Onion

Method

1. Soak the Soy beans overnight. Once ready to cook, boil them for two hours with a pinch of salt, sugar, and a little soy sauce. Then drain the water and set aside.

2. Cut the pork belly into five centimeter-square cubes

3. In a non-stick frying pan, place the pork belly skin side down and fry until golden.

4. Then, place the fried pork in a deeper saucepan, adding water to cover.

5. When it comes to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 90 minutes. Then, turn the heat off and let cool completely in the liquid.

6. When it’s completely cooled down, remove the pork from the liquid and put it in another deep saucepan adding the ingredients from Ingredients B along with the drained soy beans. Braise for around 30 minutes with the lid on.

7. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to braise until the liquid reduces to your liking. Spoon the liquid onto the pork with some soy beans and it’s good to go!

For the sides and other fixings:

Blanch some spinach in hot water for 30 seconds, run it under cold water, squeeze the liquid out
and plate it up with the pork.

If you have Japanese yellow mustard or English mustard (not Dijon, it’s too sour!), serve it with the pork for a more authentic bite!