This Japanese Braised Pork Belly & Yaki Udon dish is one of our ultimate favorite things to eat. The recipe combines succulent pork belly slowly braised to perfection in a savory soy-based sauce, paired with the most flavorful udon noodles and veggies in a tasty sauce.
The star of this dish is undoubtedly the braised pork belly, which becomes irresistibly tender and flavorful as it simmers in a fragrant blend of soy sauce, mirin, and aromatics.
Paired with the toothsome texture of the yaki udon noodles, which are stir-fried to perfection with crisp vegetables, this dish offers a harmonious balance of flavors and textures that is simply irresistible.
This isn’t the fastest dish to make. The pork belly needs to braise on the stovetop for 2 hours. But after that, it goes quickly. It’s also not the most healthy. But once in a while it’s worth the splurge.
Helpful Tips
- Try to find fresh thick Udon noodles. You can buy them on Amazon if you can’t find them near your home. If you can’t find them, you can use soba or ramen noodles instead.
- You can use regular soy sauce or dark soy sauce for this recipe. I like to combine them and use a 50/50 blend. It makes the noodles and pork belly rich and dark.
- You can use a wok to fry the pork belly and stir-fry the udon, but it’s not necessary. If you don’t have one, use a large frying pan.
- You can buy pork belly in a slab or slices. It’s easiest to use slices. But definitely make sure it’s skinless.
Japanese Braised Pork Belly & Yaki Udon
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (1 kg) pork belly slices
- 4 cups (1 l) beef or vegetable stock
- 1 inch (7 g) piece of ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped in half
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) brown sugar
For the Glaze
- 1/4 cup (60 g) cooking sake
- 1/4 cup (64 g) low sodium soy sauce or dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons (34 g) mirin
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) brown sugar
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) red chili flakes
For the Yaki Udon
- 1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup (70 g) green cabbage roughly chopped
- 1 carrot julienned
- 4 white button mushrooms sliced
- 1-2 green onions to garnish
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) fresh ginger chopped
- 12 ounces (340 g) fresh thick udon noodles
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) neutral-tasting oil
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons (36 g) soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon (18 g) oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) ketchup
- 1 tablespoon (16 g) rice wine vinegar
Instructions
- Heat the stock, ginger, garlic, and brown sugar in a pot. Add the pork belly and simmer for 2 hours, covered.
- Mix the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.
- Add oil to a frying pan over high heat. When hot, add in the pork. Fry until the pork starts to turn golden. Be careful of hot grease splattering!
- Pour the glaze over the pork and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened and the pork starts to look sticky. You don't want to cook until the liquid is gone, or it will burn.
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
For the Yaki Udon
- In a small container, mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, ketchup, and rice vinegar.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it starts to boil, add in the noodles. Cook for only 3 minutes for fresh noodles (or according to the package instructions for other types of noodles).
- Drain the noodles and set aside. You can add about 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to keep the noodles from sticking together, if you're not quite ready to continue making the dish.
- In a large wok or pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped garlic and ginger. Saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the onion, cabbage, carrot, and mushrooms. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
- When the vegetables are cooked but still crunchy, add the drained noodles and sauce. Toss everything together for 2 to 3 minutes or until the noodles are nicely coated.
- Garnish with green onions and serve with the pork belly.
Notes
- Watch the pork belly as the sauce starts to thicken and turn dark and sticky. It can go from bubbly to burned in a matter of minutes.
- The fresh udon noodles don’t need much cooking time. If you cook them too long they can turn mushy.
- The veggies for the yaki udon are cut on the big side and cooked just until they start to soften but still have some crunch to them.
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Angela’s passion for discovering and experimenting with new flavors and recipes is at the heart of her culinary philosophy. Residing in a quaint Oregon town, she finds joy and inspiration in her kitchen. Angela has a lot of expertise in cooking and she eagerly shares her discoveries and unique creations with you.
