Easy Japanese Chashu (Ramen Pork)

Meat lovers heads up! Today I am sharing this super simple Japanese chashu (ramen pork) recipe. Now you can make restaurant quality chashu at home! Chashu basically means braised pork. For me, chashu and a perfectly cooked Ajitsuke Tamago (soft-boiled marinated egg) are must when I go for a bowl of ramen. Without them, ramen is not complete LOL.

Normally pork belly is used for making Japanese chashu, however, I replaced pork belly with pork soulder / Boston butt simply to make the dish healthier. Pork shoulder is not as fatty as pork belly, but the resulting chashu is nevertheless delicious.
The chashu braised in sweet and savory sauce is both tender and flavorful. Try this recipe and you will be surprised how easy it is to make copycat ramen chashu! 

Ingredients (Serves 4-5):

• 500 g pork shoulder (Boston butt)
• 50-60 ml soy sauce
• 30 ml mirin
• 70 ml cooking wine
• 15-20 g Chinese rock sugar/ regular sugar
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 3-4 scallions
• 1 tbs fermented sweet rice (optional)
• hot water
• Butchers twine

Instructions:

1: Rinse pork Boston butt (around 5 cm thick), pat dry with paper towel. Slice pork horizontally but do not cut through (butterfly the pork).

2: Tightly roll up the Boston butt (cut side in), then wrap the log with Butchers twine, tie a knot (or multiple knots, just in case).

3: Heat 1 tsb oil in a non stick pan over medium heat, add crushed Chinese rock sugar (or regular sugar), stir until sugar melts and turns into light golden colour. Sear the pork log over medium low heat until it’s golden on the outside.

4: Transfer pork log to a small sauce pan, add the rest of the ingredients, pour in hot water to cover all the ingredients. Bring liquid to boil, then switch to low heat and simmer with lid on for 2 hours. Let cool, refrigerate overnight before serving, otherwise it may fall apart.

If you have a chef’s torch at home, I highly recommend torching chashu pieces before serving, it will boost flavor of the chashu immensely.

Done within 5 steps, this is how easy it is to make Japanese chashu. If you are craving ramen during this strange than ever quarantine time, make it yourselves 🙂

bilingual version here