This soft and tender braised pork belly has the ultimate melt-in-the-mouth texture. The braising gets easier than ever by using the Instant Pot. Serve over rice and enjoy with the perfect sweet savory sauce.
The traditional way of cooking braised pork requires 2-3 hours of hands on simmering but I have so much to handle on regular weeknights! So my instant pot comes out for this short-cut version. The recipe is very simple with a minimum prep work.
Despite the pork belly known to be extremely fatty, searing and blanching before the actual instant pot cooking makes it less heavy and greasy (maintaining all the flavor you need!)
Jump to:
Ingredients for this recipe
- Pork belly - either skin (rind)-on or skinless
- Sake - also know as Japanese cooking wine. Check the ingredients and make sure it does not contain wheat, which often happens with more reasonable brands. You can also use the most affordable drinking sake as well.
- Tamari
- Water
- Sugar
- Salt
- Fresh ginger
4 simple steps to make braised pork belly
1. Searing (10 minutes):
Giving a nice sear allows it to lock in the moisture while being cooked. Also the excess fat comes out during this process so you can avoid the over-greasiness.
2. Blanching (10 minutes):
This step helps to remove the excess fat as well.
3. Pressure cooking (25 minutes):
This is the key step to make the melt-in-the-mouth texture!
4. Simmering (10 minutes):
This last step is to reduce the sauce to adjust to your liking.
Skin-on vs skinless pork belly
Either skin (rind)less or skin-on pork belly works for this recipe. However there will be a slight difference in the results between the two.
The skin-on meat has a nice extra layer of fat which gives a richer taste. Skinless type which is more accessible in the US, allows the flavor to sink in quicker, and has a more tender texture.
I personally like the extra top layer that comes out jelly-like, so whenever I see a skin on type, I do go for it.
Tips to make it even better
If you have a chance to cool down the cooked pork belly, do so because the meat becomes way more flavorful after sitting in the sauce for a few hours.
Once cooled, you may scoop out the solidified fat layer on top. This helps to get rid of the over greasiness.
How to Store Instant Pot braised pork belly
Cooked pork belly can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat, either microwave at low or heat up over stovetop with the sauce.
More pork pecipes
Recipe
Instant Pot Braised Pork Belly
Equipment
- 1 6-quart Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork belly cut into 2 inch cubes
- ¼ cup sake (rice wine)
- ¼ cup tamari soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 slices fresh ginger
Instructions
- In a large pan, place the pork belly cubes with the skin side down. Sear all surfaces, taking about 10 minutes. The meat does not need to be cooked all the way. Blot away excess oil that comes out of the meat with paper towels.
- Pour water into the pan, just enough to cover the pork belly. Cover the pan with a lid or aluminum foil. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then drain the water completely.
- Place the rest of the ingredients in the instant pot and stir well. Add in the pork belly. Close the lid and make sure the vent is in the sealing position.
- Cook on high pressure mode for 25 minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally.
- Once opening the lid, simmer using sauté mode for 5 - 10 minutes until the sauce thickens a little, flipping the meat occasionally.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Leave a Reply