By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 14, 2026
Serves 6
941 cal · 130 min
Shio Kakuni
Recipe GLPRfd315012e95cc9
A traditional Japanese braised pork belly dish seasoned with salt, soy sauce, sake, and aromatic ginger, garlic, and scallions. The pork is simmered until incredibly tender and infused with a savory umami broth made from dried baby anchovies. Serve over rice or with vegetables for an authentic, deeply satisfying meal.
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Ingredients
1400 grams Pork belly
140 grams Scallions, cut into 4-inch lengths
100 grams Fresh ginger, sliced into coins
24 grams Garlic cloves
10 grams Niboshi (dried baby anchovies)
3 cups Water
¾ cups Sake
3 tablespoons Evaporated cane sugar
2 tablespoons Soy sauce
2 teaspoons Salt
Directions
Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the pork belly and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes to remove impurities and partially tenderize the meat.
Carefully drain the pork belly using a colander. Rinse the pot thoroughly to remove any residue. Under cool running water, gently scrub the surface of the pork belly with your fingers or a soft brush to remove any coagulated proteins.
Cut the blanched pork belly into 2-inch cubes and return them to the cleaned pot. Add the scallion pieces, ginger coins, garlic, niboshi, water, sake, sugar, soy sauce, and salt.
Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and place a partial lid on the pot (leaving a small gap for steam to escape). This allows the liquid to reduce gradually while keeping the ingredients moist.
Simmer gently for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, until the pork is extremely tender and can be easily cut in half with a fork. The braising liquid should reduce to a rich, glossy sauce that coats the meat. Serve hot as a main course.
Comments
Shio kakuni is a classic braised pork belly that will reward patience, but it asks for niboshi (dried anchovies), which you won't find at Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Publix, Walmart, or ALDI—a dedicated trip to an Asian market like H-Mart is necessary. The pork belly itself runs $8–12 per pound at Charlotte chains, pushing the cost per serving north of $5 before other ingredients, making this a special-occasion dish rather than a weeknight default. The 130 minutes is honest for braise time alone, but add 20 minutes for prep and rendering the belly, bringing real time closer to 150 minutes; it's a project, not a quick dinner. The payoff is genuine: a deeply savory, gelatinous dish that reheats beautifully and feeds six, and the ingredient list is otherwise simple and available—but the niboshi detour and pork-belly price mean this works best for someone already hunting Asian ingredients or willing to plan ahead.
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