Braised Pork Over Rice!

4.79 from 33 votes

Wash the 4 pieces of bok choy. Bring a pot of water to boil. Once its boiling, blanche the bok choy for 20 seconds. Take them out with a strainer (but don't throw out the water - we'll use for eggs next). Cool them down immediately in cold water. Then squeeze the water out of them. Set them aside - they'll continue to drip off excess water.
Now, back to the boiling pot. Place in a few big pinches of salt and few splashes of vinegar. Carefully place-in 4 eggs. Set a timer for 6 minutes. Afterwards, drain the water and cool the eggs in cold water. Peel and set aside for later.
Take out 10 cloves of garlic. Trim off the ends. Set aside.

Mix the following ingredients: 20 Whole Black Pepper, 4 Bay Leaves, 3 Dashima Squares, a small piece of Ginger (size of your thumb, cut it in half), Sugar (2 Tablespoons), Mirin (¼ Cup), Soy Sauce (¼ Cup), Water (¼ Cup).

If your piece of pork belly is long, cut it in half - so it can fit into your frying pan.
Before we sear, use a few paper towels and pat-off any moisture from the meat (this is important for searing!)
Now, place a thick-bottomed frying pan on high heat. Place in just a drizzle of oil.
Once its hot, place in the pork belly pieces. Sear them on all four sides until you get nice golden-brown color.
Then, take them out of the pan and let them rest for 5 minutes.
Important: Now, wrap the seared pork pieces in a few paper towels and pat-them down - this will remove excess oil from the surface of the seared meat. It will prevent our braising sauce from getting too oily.

Now, give your braising sauce another good mix - that's because the sugar will have settled to the bottom. Afterwards, pour it out into a large frying wok or pot.
Place the wok on a medium heat. Now place the seared pork pieces in.
When it comes to a boil, set the timer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, remove the dashima pieces. Flip the meat over and reduce the heat to a medium-low. We'll let it continue to braise for another 5 minutes.
Once the timer is up, check the status of your braise. The braise should be producing large bubbles. (If not, continue to boil for another 5 minutes).
If you see large bubbles, now it's the time to add-in the garlic pieces and soft-boiled eggs. Let it braise for a FINAL 5 minutes.
After a total of 20-25 minutes of braising, the braising sauce will have reduced & thickened.
Turn off the heat. Take out each of the ingredients and set aside for cutting + toppings.
Now, pour the remaining braising sauce into a small cup (to use as glaze).
Use a knife and cut the pork belly into thin pieces. Taste one as you cut ;-)
Scoop some rice into a bowl. Place the sliced pork belly pieces on top, then add the bok choy, braised garlic and boiled egg.
Finish by adding a few drizzle of the glaze over each of the ingredients.
Bon Appetit!