Rafute (Okinawan glazed pork)
photo by Tread
- Ready In:
- 3hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Serves:
-
8
ingredients
- 3 lbs pork belly
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 inches ginger, sliced
- 1 cup bonito stock or 1 cup dashi stock (if unavailable, use reserved pork stock)
- 1 1 cup substitute Bourbon or 1 cup Scotch whisky
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
- 1⁄2 cup mirin (Japanese rice wine)
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
directions
- Place pork, skin side up, on the rack of a broiler pan, and broil until skin is browned.
- Rinse pork under warm running water, scraping off any charred areas with a knife.
- Place the whole piece of pork in a large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook 40 minutes.
- Remove pork and reserve broth.
- Allow the pork to cool, then slice into ½" thick, 2" x 2" squares.
- Combine other ingredients, except mirin, in a thick, wide, shallow pot, and bring to the boil.
- Lay the pork pieces in this sauce and cook, covered, for about 1½ hours over low heat.
- If during this time the pan seems dry, add a little of the reserved pork stock.
- As pork tenderizes, add mirin and cook a further half-hour uncovered, until pork is melt-in-the-mouth tender and evenly glazed with sauce.
- When warming leftovers, do not add water or soup stock- instead, use sake (or bourbon/whisky), which is said to keep pork tender and juicy.
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Reviews
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This was good. I have fond memories as a young Marine of lots of rafute atop of bowls of soba noodle soup with a tall Orion beer, nothing better on a cool evening after a long days work. Of course I didn?t have any soba noodles handy in Louisiana so I served it with some rice and sautéed kale. Warning, this might be a little different for some tastes, it is sweet, think of it more like pork candy instead of stewed pork. Thanks Daydream.
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This pork is okay, but the flavor of the sauce is a little too strong for me. I am not, however, Okinawan, which may be the main problem. I didn't have awamori handy, so used bourbon instead. I cut the recipe in half, but used all the specified ingredients in the proportions given. It was very interesting to try, and I was amazed to find a recipe that just fit what I wanted to use up. Thank you very much for sharing this recipe with us.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Daydream
Australia
I was raised in a family that loves to travel, meet people from other countries, and taste new foods. We are quite 'international' - my brother's wife is Indian, my sister's husband is Swiss and my DS's GF is of Swedish origin. My little dogs are of German origin - miniature dachshunds :-) - and my DH is an NZer.
Presently my favourite cookbook is Quick and Easy Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey, but that is liable to change as I often raid my library for new and interesting cookbooks.