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    Home » Recipes » Meat

    Ramen Restaurant Style Japanese Pork "Chashu" (チャーシュー)

    Published: May 16, 2020 · Modified: Jan 9, 2022 by Yuto Omura

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    Ever wondered how the Chashu pork served with ramen is so succulent, tender and delicious? Well, wonder no more! With my recipe you can make ramen restaurant style chashu at home! This chashu will melt in your mouth!

    Japanese braised pork, collection of images with title

    Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Sudachi Recipes earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. See disclaimer for more info.

    What Is Japanese Braised Pork "Chashu"?

    Chashu is a dish made with fatty pork belly braised or simmered in a soy based sauce. It's most commonly served on top of a bowl of hot ramen. Chashu is fatty and usually slow cooked, this causes the texture to become extremely tender. It's one of the best parts about ramen!

    homemade Japanese chashu cut into three slices on a wooden chopping board

    Cantonese Char Siu VS Japanaese Chashu

    Japanese chashu originally came from Cantonese cuisine. However, there are a few differences between Cantonese "Char Siu" and Japanese "Chashu", at least with the chashu you see in ramen restaurants.

    The biggest difference would be that, while Cantonese Char Siu tends to be barbecued and roasted, Japanese Chashu is braised or simmered.

    Also Japanese chashu is commonly glazed with the leftover broth, this creates an effect similar to teriyaki. Cantonese char siu on the other hand, has a bit of a barbeque flavour.

    homemade Japanese chashu served in a bowl of shoyu ramen along with boiled egg, nori, narutomaki and spring onion side view

    Meat used for Japanese style Chashu

    When making Japanese Chashu, the most common meat to use is a block of pork belly. That's not to say it can't be made with other cuts of pork, or even different meat entirely. It can also be made with:

    • Pork loin
    • Pork shoulder
    • Chicken breast (鶏チャーシュー)
    homemade Japanese chashu cut into three slices on a wooden chopping board

    Chashu Ingredients

    Cooking Chashu might seem a bit overwhelming, but the cooking process is actually quite easy and the ingredients are accessible too!

    Simple ingredients

    The ingredients for a simple Chashu would be:

    • Pork
    • Soy sauce
    • Water
    • Sake
    • Mirin
    • Sugar
    • Garlic (Optional)
    • Ginger
    • Spring onion

    That's all you need for simple Chashu!

    homemade Japanese chashu cut into three slices on a wooden chopping board top down view

    Cooking process for Chashu

    1. Piercing

    The first step is to pierce both sides of the pork with a fork. This not only helps it absorb all the flavour from the broth we make later, but it also helps break down some of the tendons and proteins which will result in a more tender chashu.

    2. Rolling

    Rolling the pork is optional, it doesn't affect the flavour but it's more for the presentation. You can either use rope or stretchable meat netting.

    3. Simmering in broth

    Rather than just simmering the pork in water, we add spring onion, ginger, garlic and onion to the pot. This flavours the pork and the liquid becomes a broth that we can later use in the sauce for maximum flavour. This broth can also be used to make the ramen broth!

    TIP: I add 1 tsp of rice vinegar when simmering the pork, this helps it become even more tender. 1 tsp is enough, it seems like a tiny amount but we don't want to make the broth sour.

    4. Glazing

    After the pork is cooked and we've made a soy based broth, we use some of the leftover liquid to glaze the pork. The sugars in the liquid caramelize and char slightly, giving a bit of a teriyaki effect. I usually do this step in a frying pan.

    homemade Japanese chashu cut into three slices on a wooden chopping board close up

    OTOSHIBUTA (落し蓋)

    When simmering, Japanese people often use a traditional cooking tool called an "otoshibuta" (落し蓋). I use an otoshibuta to make chashu, all you need is some baking parchment or aluminum foil and a pair of scissors!

    WHAT IS AN OTOSHIBUTA DROP-LID?

    An otoshibuta (落し蓋) is a traditional Japanese cooking tool used for simmering. The word "otoshi" (落し) means to drop, and futa (蓋) becomes "buta" which means lid. The small round lid sits on top the simmering liquid, helping evenly distribute the heat around the food.

    Paper otoshibuta with scissors and pan
    A handmade paper "otoshibuta" drop lid. Learn how to make it here!

    When the liquid is bubbling, the drop lid prevents large bubbles by popping them under the weight of the lid. This way, delicate ingredients such as tender meat or flakey fish are less likely to break.

    Drop lids are commonly made from wood, but stainless steal and silicone drop lids are also popular. The size of the steel ones can often be adjusted to fit different pans too!

    If you don't plan to use a drop lid regularly, I recommend making a single-use one with baking paper or foil. You can learn how on my "How to make Otoshibuta" post here!

    Reusing the Broth

    So at the end of cooking, you will have some pork broth leftover, which you can use to make ramen broths and soups!

    Many ramen restaurants actually keep using old broth by adding new broth and replenishing.

    Obviously, we're not ramen restaurants so we don't have to go that far but you can still use the leftover broth. If you don't have an immediate use for it you can also keep it in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for about 3 months.

    So the big batch of broth won't go to waste!

    homemade Japanese chashu served in a bowl of shoyu ramen along with boiled egg, nori, narutomaki and spring onion top down portrait

    Other ways to use chashu

    Chashu doesn't only have to be served on ramen, you could also use it to make delicious "Ramen restaurant style fried rice" or "Chashudon" rice bowl!

    Enjoy your delicious homemade chashu in a number of ways!

    Ramen restaurant style chahan side view
    Ramen restaurant style fried rice with chashu and leftover chashu marinade.

    FAQ

    What cut of meat is Chashu?

    Mostly pork belly but some places use pork shoulder or even chicken breast!

    Is Chashu Chinese or Japanese?

    There's no doubt that the origin is from Chinese Char Siu. It travelled to Japan, then Japanese people found their own way to cook it.

    What do you eat Chashu with?

    It's usually served with Ramen but sometimes on rice bowls. You can check out my chashu donburi recipe here. There are even some izakayas (Japanese Tapas-style restaurant) that serve Chashu on its own as a beer snack!

    Watch How to make Japanese Pork Chashu Video

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    homemade Japanese chashu cut into three slices on a wooden chopping board close up

    Japanese Style Chashu Braised Pork (チャーシュー)


    • Author: Yuto Omura
    • Total Time: 14 hours 20 mins
    • Yield: 6 portions 1x
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    Description

    How to make delicious, tender, melt in the mouth Japanese style Ramen restaurant Chashu Braised Pork (チャーシュー)


    Ingredients

    Scale

    Part 1

    • 700g Pork belly
    • 50g Spring onion green part
    • 50g Fresh ginger
    • 3 cloves Garlic
    • ½ White onion
    • 1 tsp rice vinegar

    Part 2

    • 50ml Sake
    • 1 tbsp Mirin
    • 250ml Pork stock (from part 1)
    • 150ml Soy sauce
    • 30g Sugar

    Instructions

    Part 1

    1. Roughly cut half an onion and slice 50g of fresh ginger. (It's fine to leave the skin on the ginger, just make sure it's washed before you cut it.)
      Vegetables cut for chashu pork stock
    2. Take your pork belly block and pierce both sides with a fork. 
      piercing pork belly with a fork
    3. Dry the pork belly with a paper towel and roll. Start with the thinnest side and roll it up, secure with string or meat netting. (See video)
      rolling and tying the chashu
    4. Place the pork into a deep pot, fill with cold water until the pork is just about submerged. (It's okay if the highest part is slightly poking out the top.)
      adding the pork to the pot with water
    5. Turn the heat on a medium-high setting and bring the water to a boil. If any scum floats on the top, scoop it out.
      scooping up the scum from the surface of the broth
    6. Once it's boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and add the spring onion, onion, ginger, garlic and 1 tsp of rice vinegar. 
      adding vinegar to the pork broth
    7. Place a drop lid on top (see post for how to make your own drop lid) and then allow to simmer on a low heat for 1 hour.
      adding a drop lid to the pot
    8. Once the time has passed, peel back the drop lid, carefully flip the pork over onto the other side and put the drop lid back into position. Simmer for another hour.
      Turning the pork
    9. After the time is up, turn off the heat, remove the pork from the broth and place it in a large ziplock bag.
      Placing pork into a ziplock bag

    Part 2

    1. Scoop 250ml of broth from the pork and pour it into a small pan.
      Taking a scoop of pork broth with a ladle
    2. Add 50ml of sake, 1 tbsp mirin, 150ml soy sauce and 30g sugar to the pan and mix.
      pouring soy sauce into a pan
    3. Heat on medium high and bring it to a boil. Allow to boil for 1 minute to burn off the alcohol.
      Bringing marinade to a boil
    4. Turn off the heat and leave it to cool slightly.
    5. Pour the marinade into the ziplock bag with the pork.
      Pouring marinade over the chashu
    6. Seal the ziplock bag and allow to cool completely. Place it upright in the fridge. (You can place the ziplock bag in a tray or bowl to prevent any leaks.)
    7. Rest the pork in the liquid for 12 hours or overnight.

    Part 3

    1. Heat a frying pan on a medium-high heat. Once it's hot, add the pork belly to the pan and lightly char the outside. Keep turning the pork to make sure all the edges are evenly charred.
      Sealing chashu
    2. Set the pork to one side and in the same pan, add 100ml of the chashu marinade in the ziplock bag to the pan.
      Adding marinade to the pan to use as a glaze
    3. Allow the sauce to thicken and place the pork back in.
      moving the chashu around in the glaze
    4. Once the pork is glazed with the sauce, remove it from the pan and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.
    5. Remove the rope or net and then cut the chashu into slices.
      Cutting the chashu
    6. Serve on ramen or on rice as chashu donburi!
      homemade Japanese chashu served in a bowl of shoyu ramen along with boiled egg, nori, narutomaki and spring onion side view

    Notes

    Remove the ginger, spring onion and garlic at the end of the simmering time and store leftover pork stock in the fridge for up to 1 week or 1 month in the freezer. You can use it in soups and broths.

    You can soak boiled and peeled eggs in the ziplock bag with the leftover broth to make ramen eggs.

    The chashu itself can be kept in the fridge for 1 week or 3-4 weeks in the freezer. I recommend slicing it first for convenience.

    Rolling the pork belly is for decoration and is optional. You can still make delicious chashu without rolling it. If you don't roll it, reduce the cooking time to 45 mins on each side. (1 hour 30 minutes total)

    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Marinating Time: 12 hours
    • Cook Time: 2 hours 10 mins
    • Category: Meat
    • Method: Simmering
    • Cuisine: Japanese

    Keywords: How to make Japanese Chashu pork,Chashu pork for Ramen,Japanese braised chashu pork recipe,Chashu Ramen,What cut is chashu,What is Chashu,Is Chashu Chinese or Japanese,Chashu meaning,How to make Japanese style pork for ramen, how to make chashu, Japanese chashu, Japanese chashu recipe, chashu recipe, pork chashu recipe, ramen chashu recipe, char siu, cha siu, how to roll chashu, how to roll cha siu, chashu for ramen, pork ramen,

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    Comments

    1. Clara

      March 12, 2021 at 2:52 am

      Hi, if i use smaller meat, say 250g, will the cooking time be the same or faster?

      Thanks

      Reply
      • Yuto Omura

        March 12, 2021 at 5:10 am

        Hi Clara,
        Thank you for your question. I haven't tried the recipe with a smaller piece of meat but in theory it would cook a bit faster. However this recipe is already a quick chashu (they usually take 3-4 hours at least) so I recommend cooking it for the time stated to ensure it's flavourful. Hope it helps!

        Reply

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