Pork belly rolled into a tight cylinder, tied with kitchen string, and braised slowly in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and water until deeply caramelised, glossy, and tender throughout — then sliced and served as the primary protein in ramen and many other Japanese preparations. Chashu (from the Cantonese 'char siu' — though the Japanese preparation differs significantly from the Chinese roast in technique) is one of the benchmarks of a ramen shop's quality — thin, lacquered slices of braised pork belly that are simultaneously deeply flavoured from the braise, soft from the gelatin-converted connective tissue, and slightly fatty from the belly's fat layers.
**The roll:** - Pork belly: skin-on, 800g to 1kg piece. - Roll the belly tightly, fat-side out, into a tight cylinder approximately 8cm diameter. - Tie with kitchen string at 2cm intervals — the tight rolling and binding prevents the layers from separating during the long braise. **The braise liquid:** - Soy sauce: 100ml. - Mirin: 100ml. - Sake: 50ml. - Water: 200ml. - Sugar: 2 tablespoons. The braise liquid is a tare-adjacent preparation — concentrated soy-mirin-sake that both seasons the pork and caramelises on its surface during the extended braise. **The preparation:** 1. Heat a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with a tablespoon of neutral oil over medium-high heat. 2. Brown the tied pork roll on all sides — 2–3 minutes per side, developing Maillard crust throughout. 3. Add the braise liquid. Bring to a simmer. 4. Cover and braise over very low heat for 2.5–3 hours. 5. Turn the roll every 45 minutes — ensuring even exposure to the braise liquid. 6. Finished chashu: deep mahogany brown on the exterior, the braise liquid reduced to a glaze. A skewer through the centre should meet no resistance. 7. Remove the roll. Allow to cool in the braise liquid (the cooling stage allows the pork to absorb more of the liquid as the temperature drops). 8. Refrigerate overnight — the chashu is easiest to slice cleanly when cold. 9. Slice in 8–10mm rounds, removing the string. **The braise liquid (tare for chashu eggs):** The leftover braise liquid after the chashu is removed is the marinating liquid for Entry JS-07. Decisive moment: Slicing the cold chashu — the cold gelatin has set the roll structure, allowing thin, clean slices without the roll falling apart. Slicing warm: the roll is too soft to slice cleanly. Slicing cold: each slice is a perfect round of layered pork fat and lean. Sensory tests: **Sight — the slice cross-section:** A correctly prepared chashu slice: alternating layers of pale lean pork and white translucent fat, with the exterior layer (the rolled skin) providing a deep brown mahogany border from the braise caramelisation. The fat layers should look gelatinous and slightly translucent (gelatin-converted collagen) rather than white-solid (un-converted connective tissue). **Taste — the slice warmed briefly in the broth:** A slice of cold chashu warmed in the ramen broth for 30 seconds before service: deep soy-mirin sweetness from the braise, the fat layer melting to a silky richness, the lean providing a mild, clean pork flavour that carries the braise's intensity.
Tadashi Ono & Harris Salat, *Japanese Soul Food* (2013)