is a Japanese braised

pork belly Pork belly or belly pork is a boneless, fatty Primal cut, cut of pork from the Abdomen, belly of a pig. Pork belly is particularly popular in American cuisine, American, British cuisine, British, Swedish cuisine, Swedish, Danish cuisine, Danish, ...

dish which literally means "square simmered". It is made by braising fatty pieces of pork in

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

mirin is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine, Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol (drug), alcohol content and higher sugar content. The sugar content is a complex carbohydrate that forms natur ...

, and

brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

. The Okinawan regional variation is called '' rafute''.

History

Kakuni is a popular regional cuisine (''

meibutsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term most often applied to regional specialties (also known as ). can also be applied to specialized areas of interest, such as , where it refers to famous tea utensils, or Japanese swords, where it refers to sp ...

'') of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

, particularly

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

. This particular dish most likely originated from the famous Chinese dish Dongpo Pork, making it a form of

Japanese Chinese cuisine Japanese Chinese cuisine, also known as ''chūka'', represents a unique fusion of Japanese cuisine, Japanese and Chinese cuisine, Chinese culinary traditions that have evolved over the late 19th century and more recent times. This style, serv ...

, although the gravy is less heavy than the original dish. During the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

and

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

, the main Sino-Japanese trading route existed between

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

and

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

. Many Chinese lived in major port cities in Kyushu, such as Nagasaki; likewise many Japanese lived in

. Therefore, pork was popularized in major Kyushu cities.

Preparation

Kakuni is made of thick cubes of

simmered in dashi,

, sugar, and sake. By cooking it for a long time over a low temperature the

collagen Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues of many animals. It is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up 25% to 35% of protein content. Amino acids are bound together to form a trip ...

breaks-down into gelatin keeping the meat moist while becoming extremely tender allowing it to be consumed with chopsticks easily. The dish is often served with scallions, daikon and

karashi , also known as '' oni karashi'', is a type of mustard used as a condiment or as a seasoning in Japanese cuisine. ''Karashi'' is made from the crushed seeds of '' Brassica juncea'' (brown mustard) and is usually sold in either powdered or paste ...

. Kakuni by jetalone at home.jpg Kakuni ramen by Ozchin.JPG, In ramen Stewed pork bowl of Sukiya.jpg, Kakuni bowl from Sukiya アオサンズのバインミー３.jpg, Kakuni burger Kakuni by shibainu in Suginami, Tokyo.jpg Butakakuni - Dec 2014.jpg

References

Japanese Chinese cuisine Japanese pork dishes {{Chinese-fusion-cuisine-stub

History

Preparation

See also

References