Name: Japanese Butadon Pork Bowls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 500 grams thinly sliced pork belly; 1/2 medium onion, (cut into chunks); 1 tablespoon dashi broth granules; 2 cups water; 1/3 cup Japanese soy sauce; 1/3 cup mirin; 1 1/2 teaspoons honey; Cooked rice for serving with the pork; Shichimi Togarashi ((Japanese mixed chili pepper seasoning)); Pickled ginger; Chopped green onions; Furikake seasoning; Fried shallots

Ingredients

A round white dish containing raw pork slices, a round bowl containing white onion chunks.

Thinly sliced pork belly

Onion

Water

Dashi granules

Japanese soy sauce

Mirin

Honey

Hot cooked rice

Instructions

A dark liquid boiling in a round metal pot.

In a medium sized pot, add the water, dashi granules, Japanese soy sauce, mirin, and honey. Stir well to dissolve the dashi granules and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

A pair of white chopsticks stirring raw pork slices into a brown liquid in a metal pot.

Add the pork belly to the pot, using chopsticks or a spoon to loosen the meat and prevent the slices from sticking together.

Slices of cooked pork in a brown liquid in a metal pot.

Reduce the heat to low-medium and cover the pot with a lid, leaving a slight gap. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Cooked pork slices in a brown liquid in a metal pot.

Remove the lid from the pot and increase the heat to medium.

Raw chunks of white onion in a metal pot containing cooked slices of meat in a brown liquid.

Add the onion chunks to the pot and stir to submerge in the braising liquid.

Cooked slices of pork and onions in a brown liquid for butadon pork bowls.

Cook for another 15 minutes until the liquid has reduced slightly and the onions are soft. Use tongs to pile the pork and onions over hot rice, adding a bit of the braising liquid over the meat and rice.

Serving Variations

A pair of wooden chopsticks resting on top of a butadon pork bowl.

The pork and onions piled onto hot steamed rice is delicious as it is, but you can add some extra touches to add more flavor layers and texture to your butadon pork bowl:

Spice - Shichimi Togarashi red pepper seasoning adds a bit of heat that complements the savory meat.

Pickled ginger - add this for some crunch and for a sweet and sour layer of flavor.

Chopped green onions - you can never go wrong with some chopped green onions for a "fresh" taste.

Extra umami - Furikake seasoning adds some texture and boosts the savory taste.

Crunch - Fried shallots add some crispy crunch to the tender pork and rice.

Soy sauce egg - the added touch of protein from a jammy soy sauce egg would make the butadon extra delicious!

Thicker sauce - Mix 1 teaspoon of tapioca starch or cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry, then stir it into the pot and heat through before serving.

Close-up of a black spoon containing slices of cooked pork, onion, and white rice.

Top tips:

For melt-in-your-mouth tender pork that is really flavor-infused from the sauce, it's important to let it simmer for the time specified. The pork will obviously cook very quickly because it is so thin, but it will be a bit tougher and it won't have the same taste if you eat it right away.
Make sure to serve the pork over Japanese short-grain rice. The stickiness/clumpiness of the rice makes for more satisfying mouthfuls with the pork than a looser long-grain rice.

Substitutions

A black spoon containing cooked pork, onion, white rice, and resting in a dish of butadon pork bowl.

Dashi granules - substitute with 1 teaspoon of fish sauce.

Japanese soy sauce - Chinese light soy sauce, or tamari if you are gluten-free.

Mirin - sake or sweetened rice vinegar.

Honey - granulated sugar.

Comments

4.30 from 20 votes (17 ratings without comment)