Rafutei
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 2-1/4-2-1/2 lbs boneless pork belly, ideally with three layers each of meat and fat
- 1-1/4 cups Awamori, an Okinawan liquor distilled from rice, or good quality sake
- 1-1/4 cups dashi fish stock
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup Japanese soy sauce
- 1 small knob of fresh ginger, peeled and thickly sliced, optional
Garnish:
- Bok choy, spinach, choc (sometimes also called choy) sum or fresh nigauri* (bitter melon/bitter gourd)
Instructions
- Place the port in a deep, thick-bottomed soup pot, fill the pot three-quarters full with water, and bring to a boil. Cover, and continue boiling over medium heat for one hour, occassionally skimming off any scum. (If too much water boils off and the pork is not completely covered, add more boiling water.) Remove pork from heat, and cool down enough to cut into 1-1/2 inch chunks.
- Prepare the seasoning stock by combining all ingredients and putting them in the cleaned soup pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, add the pork, and simmer for two and a half hours, turning the pork chunks over about once every 30 minutes. Halve the bok choy and boil briefly.
- Lay the bok choy (or other green garnish) in a serving dish. Place the pork chunks next to it and drizzle the remaining sauce over. Serve hot or at room tempurature.
- *If fresh nigauri is available, by all means use it! It can replace the bok choy and or other greens. To prepare nigauri, scrape the skin, slice thinly, remove the seeds, and blanch to
remove the bitterness. It can also be lightly stir-fried.