DISH RESEARCH · Dish
Kakuni
Also known as: 角煮
Japanese pork-belly cubes slowly simmered and braised in dashi, sake, mirin, sugar and soy sauce.
About Kakuni
Kakuni is a Japanese dish of skinless pork belly cut into cubes and slowly braised in a salty-sweet seasoning liquid. This profile follows a dashi-based version simmered first with sake, green onion and ginger, then finished with mirin, sugar and soy sauce.
The pork is rich and deeply savoury, balanced by the sweetness of mirin and sugar and the fermented saltiness of soy sauce. Ginger and green onion lighten the braise, while kombu-and-bonito dashi adds a clean layer of umami.
The finished cubes are deep mahogany at the edges and glossy with reduced braising liquid. Long cooking leaves the meat fork-tender, with soft layers of pork and translucent fat that yield easily without falling apart.
Allergens in this recipe
Contains: Fish, Soy.
Product-dependent or unconfirmed: Wheat (gluten).
Other allergen details are unconfirmed.
Ingredients vary by restaurant. Confirm your allergens with staff before ordering.
Ingredients in Kakuni
Japanese Kakuni with Awase Dashi, Sake and Mirin.
- Tokyo negi or green onionAromatic simmer and fresh garnish
- Fresh gingerWarm aromatic simmer and braise
- Skinless pork bellyRich tender meat base
- Neutral oilSearing fat
- SakePork simmer and braising seasoning
- WaterInitial slow-simmering liquid
- Awase dashiKombu-and-bonito braising stock
- MirinSweet rice-wine seasoning
- SugarSweet braising balance
- Soy sauceFermented savoury braise
Ingredient details & uncertainties
Allergen information is incomplete. Unconfirmed details do not establish that an allergen is absent.
- Tokyo negi or green onion: . The source names Tokyo negi and explicitly permits green onions or scallions; this maps to the established green-onion route
- Fresh ginger:
- Skinless pork belly:
- Neutral oil: . The source specifies neutral oil without identifying the plant source, so the established neutral-oil route is retained without inferring a botanical allergen
- Sake:
- Water:
- Awase dashi: . The source permits standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet, powder or vegan dashi; this profile fixes standard kombu-and-bonito awase dashi
- Mirin:
- Sugar:
- Soy sauce: . Soy is source-confirmed; the source does not identify the soy-sauce producer or wheat formula, so Wheat remains pending on this ingredient
Origins & food traditions
Japanese cook Namiko Hirasawa Chen supplies the complete kakuni recipe selected here: skinless pork belly is slow-simmered with sake, Tokyo negi and ginger, then braised with dashi, sake, mirin, sugar and soy sauce. This profile fixes the source's standard awase-dashi option and excludes optional egg, snap peas, dried chilli and shichimi. Cook Eat World independently identifies Buta Kakuni and Kakuni as names for the same Japanese preparation and confirms the two-stage dashi-and-aromatics simmer followed by soy, sake, mirin and sugar.
Countries
- Japan
- JapanCatalogue link pending review
Cuisines & regions
- Japanese Cuisine
- Kyushu CuisineCatalogue link pending review