Tag Archive for 'kakuni'

Japanese Style Broast Duck

Published
by
marc
on August 24, 2008
in Duck, Japanese and Uncategorized
. 5 Comments

Okay, this is admittedly a terrible name. I always cringe when I see any recipe that starts with “Japanese style” (replace Japanese with any country). It tells me that the creator either didn’t feel confident enough in the authenticity of the dish to give it its proper name, or they were just too lazy to come up with a better name for their new dish (which doesn’t bode well for the recipe). In this case it’s more the later than the former, but this one is tasty, I promise!

What the hell is a broast you ask? Well it’s a rather un-witty name I came up with for half braising / half roasting something. As it turns out, it’s also a trademarked technique of pressure frying chicken, but I’m too tired to think of a better name, so until someone posts a comment with a better name, this dish is forever blighted with its rather unoriginal trademark infringing name.

So how did it come to be? I had 4 duck legs sitting in the freezer waiting to be turned into confit, but I just wasn’t in the mood to do a real confit, so I started thinking of other ways I could cook this. One of my favourite Japanese dishes is Buta Kakuni (braised pork belly); it’s a great way to prepare fatty cuts of meat and duck legs squarly fit in that category.

One of the best parts of duck though is having crisp skin, and several hours of braising aren’t exactly conducive to that end. Braising then broiling won’t work because the skin would absorb too much moisture, and I could always braise and deep fry it, but I really didn’t feel like using up a quart of oil for 4 legs. So how could I make the the meat moist and fall-off-the-bone tender while having crisp golden brown skin? Broasting!

Broasting starts off with a quick browning under the broiler, then with just enough liquid to braise the meat half of the duck, it goes in the oven allowing the skin half to slowly roast, unimpeded by liquid. It finishes up with a few quick minutes under the broiler to make sure that the skin is nice and crisp.

It worked! The meat was tender and moist, with a thin layer of creamy melt-in-your-mouth fat, topped with a crisp layer of skin. It’s similar in flavour to its more porky cousin, but but the roasting intensifies the flavours of the dashi and soy sauce creating a slightly sweet glaze on top.
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Buta Udon (Udon with braised pork)

Published
by
marc
on May 19, 2008
in Japanese, Pork and Soups & Stews
. 10 Comments

Amy from We Are Never Full (one of my favourite blogs) mentioned in her last post how she hates it when idiots ruin a dish then try to call it “authentic”. I’d have to say I’m totally on-board with her on that, but at the same time I do enjoy coming up with my own ways of making things.

For most of these creative endeavors I caveat the post with something along the lines of “inspired by”. This dish however has its roots firmly planted in my New York apartment, yet I could totally picture it being served in an Okinawan noodle bar. Okinawa is the southern-most island of Japan, just a stones-throw from Taiwan and their food takes cues from their neighbors, using a lot of pork and fish.

Rather than using a traditional dashi based soup stock for udon, I’ve combined some braising liquid from the pork belly kakuni I made the other night with dashi to create a tasty, though unconventional broth for the noodles. If you’re a ramen maniac or an udon fanatic (or better yet, both), this may be your perfect bowl of noodle soup as it falls somewhere in between the two while tasting entirely different from either

I used Sanuki Udon noodles which are much thinner than other types of udon, yet they have a pleasantly firm texture when cooked al dente. The soup has a deep almost indescribable savory flavor met right in the middle by a subtle sweetness and a mellow zing coming from the long-cooked ginger. It’s inexplicably light, yet rich at the same time. The slices of pork on top start melting like butter on contact with the hot soup. Putting a slice in your mouth gives it just the nudge it needs to sublimate into a pool of rich meaty goodness.

I know it’s not every day you have Japanese braised pork laying around, but to be honest, I actually made the pork last night with the intent to make this udon today (yes, it’s THAT good).

2 C dashi
1 C braising liquid from buta kakuni (fat skimmed)
1-2 Tbs soy sauce (depending on how salty the braising liquid is)
2 bundles udon noodles
8 slices of buta kakuni
scallions finely chopped

Put the dashi and braising liquid in a pot and simmer. Taste the soup adding up to 2 tablespoons of soy sauce if needed. If after adding 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, it’s still not salty enough, supplement with salt until you’re happy.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Following the package instructions, boil the udon until about 1 minute before they are done. For example, if the directions say to cook for 6 minutes, boil them for 5. This is because the noodles continue to cook once you add them to the soup.

Drain the udon and give it a quick rinse to get rid of any extra starch. Put the noodles in 2 bowls, top with 4 slices of pork belly each, scatter some scallions on top then laddle the hot soup over everything. Other great toppings include baby mizuna greens (pictured), enoki mushrooms (pictured), or a poached egg. Serve with a little white pepper to sprinkle on top.

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Buta Kakuni (Japanese braised porkbelly)

Published
by
marc
on May 18, 2008
in Asian, Japanese and Pork
. 13 Comments

Pork belly is one of those unctuous guilty pleasures that you know will kill you some day, but you can’t resist taking another bite. Unlike “pork butt”, porkbelly actually comes from the belly of the pig and has layers of glorious fat. Salted and smoked, this cut is called “bacon”… need I say more?

Cooked over low heat for a long period of time, much of the fat renders out (which you skim off) and the collagen in the tough bits breaks down into gelatin making the entire thing dissolve in your mouth on contact. While I love porkbelly how ever it’s prepared, it’s so rich that I like simple preparations the best.

In Japan, buta kakuni is served as an appetizer along with some beer or sake. Literally translated it means “stewed square cut pork”. While it’s traditionally cut into cubes, I actually like leaving it in longer strips then slicing it before serving.

The dried sardines and pork make a flavorful broth while the ginger and garlic evens out any overly fishy or porky tones. The braising liquid has a small amount of soy sauce for added umami and “that Japanese taste”, but it’s mostly seasoned with salt with just a touch of sugar to balance it all out.

This goes great with some stir fried greens (flavored with the braising liquid), but I also love having slices of this over udon noodles with some of the braising liquid in the dashi.
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