Colour-Scientist said:
Headdrivehardscrew said:
http://image.rakuten.co.jp/primaham/cabinet/chashu_01/chashu_detail_04.jpg
I have no idea what that is but it looks really good.
Oh, it is.
It's bacon. Get a bit of pork belly/pork flank/side pork (one and the same) that, if thinly or not so thinly cut, would get you bacon strips.
Instead of cutting it in strips, cut it in cubes (or, as in the picture - but only if you have a really large pan). Next, put them all skin side down in the pot, add water. Then add soy sauce, sake, garlic and ginger, as well as cloves and some salt. Bring to boil, skim foam, reduce heat to medium-low and reduce the liquid until it's well sticky and clings to the bacon. Takes about an hour or so.
There are plenty of slightly or quite different recipes out there, as it's a food staple all over Asia. I prefer the (mostly) Japanese variant. Some people prefer to roll it up into rounds and tie them together, which looks like sausage when cut, but I prefer cubes and thin squares.
Once done, some
MUST be eaten on the spot, as it's just too good to miss. Most of it goes into a tight-fitting tupperware into the fridge or freezer, and comes out whenever it's Ramen noodle (soup) time. Cut a Chashu cube into thin strips and place neatly on top of noodle soup, let warm through for a bit and enjoy instant spicy melt-in-your-mouth pork flavour exploding into your face.
Should there be any remaining broth, don't consider it waste material - it makes for excellent sauce base and adds splendid taste to any noodles or (fried) rice.
