LimeCake

My family gathers for meals every week. My grandma toils for hours in a hot kitchen to produce a banquet for all of us (think Eat Drink Man Woman. Really). When I was much younger, my grandma would always tell me to eat all the rice in my bowl. She said that for every grain left, my future husband would have that same amount of pimples/scars on his face. This meant if I didn’t finish the 5 grains in my rice bowl, my future husband would have 5 pimples/scars on his face. I suppose the rice bowl represented his face.

Fast forward 15-20 years: Wednesday night dinner – Chashu on rice. This is not to be mistaken for Chinese Char Siu. Chashu is often enjoyed atop a steaming hot bowl of ramen. Chashu may be the Japanese version of Char Siu (Chinese barbecued pork) but the two could not be less alike – the ingredients and cooking technique are worlds apart.

Essentially, Chashu is pork that is braised over low heat for no less than an hour, so that the meat becomes incredibly tender. I used this recipe because I had all the ingredients on-hand and the method seemed simple enough.

My only variation was that I added a stalk of spring onion (green onion) to the braising liquid. 5 minutes into braising and the wonderful aromas of the ginger, garlic, spring onion and mirin wafted through my apartment. There was no way this was not going to taste good. I was right.

Chinese are full of superstitions. Whenever I eat rice, I still feel like that little girl, and tonight, I gobbled every last grain in my bowl.

Japanese Chashu (from No Recipes)

2 well marbled pork cheeks (or pork belly)
3/4 C water
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs miso
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs mirin
2 Tbs sake
1? piece of ginger sliced
2 cloves garlic smashed
12 white pepper corns

Put all the ingredients in a pot large enough to accommodate the pork in one layer but small enough so the liquid more or less covers the pork. Partially cover with a lid and simmer over medium low heat for one hour, or until a fork easily passes through the meat. Allow the pork to cool in the braising liquid then remove the meat from the liquid. Wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator (this makes it easier to slice).

Slice the Chashu hinly against the grain and serve on top of ramen (the heat from the soup should warm it up). This is also great sliced a little thicker and warmed up on top of a bowl of rice with a little of the braising liquid drizzled on top.

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