Main ingredients 🥩
lotus rootcarrotpork bellymirinsoy sauce
Jung Ho-young's Japanese-Style Braised Pork Belly with Lotus Root
A Japanese home-style lotus root braised dish featuring crisp lotus root stir-fried with a golden ratio sauce (6:1:0.5:0.5), enhanced with the rich, savory flavor of fatty pork belly.
🙋 Recommended for
- ⭐ Those looking to learn a fresh, crunchy Japanese-style braised lotus root instead of the usual soft, thin slices
- ⭐ People wanting a hearty side dish with rich, savory pork flavor and a balanced sweet-salty sauce
- ⭐ Home cooks who want to master the easy-to-remember golden ratio of Japanese universal braising sauce for lifelong use
Ingredients needed 🛒2 servings
- lotus root 320g
- carrot a little
- pork belly to taste
- vinegar a little (for preventing discoloration)
- vegetable oil a little
- water 300ml
- soy sauce 50ml
- mirin 25ml
- sugar 25ml
Recipe 🍳
- Soak the peeled lotus root in water with a splash of vinegar to prevent browning and remove excess starch.
- Slice the lotus root into thick, diagonal pieces, and cut the carrot into similar-sized, similarly shaped pieces.
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat, add a small amount of vegetable oil, and thoroughly sauté the prepared lotus root and carrot until golden brown.
- Once the lotus root begins to change color, add 300ml water, 50ml soy sauce, 25ml mirin, and 25ml sugar to achieve the correct sauce ratio (6:1:0.5:0.5).
- When the sauce comes to a boil, add the pork belly and simmer together. You can use frozen pork belly directly without thawing.
- As the pork belly releases its rich fat, spoon the sauce over the ingredients repeatedly to ensure even seasoning and a glossy finish.
- Continue cooking until the mirin has reduced and the lotus root develops a shiny sheen, and the sauce thickens slightly—then finish.
- Sauté thickly and diagonally sliced lotus root and carrot in a pan with vegetable oil until golden.
- Add water, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in a 6:1:0.5:0.5 ratio, then simmer with pork belly.
- Spoon the sauce over the mixture repeatedly until it glistens and reaches the desired consistency.
Cooking tips 💡
- Stir-frying the lotus root in oil before braising preserves its texture and makes it much crunchier than if cooked directly in sauce.
- In Japanese-style braising, mirin is used instead of corn syrup to create a rich, savory sweetness and the signature glossy sheen on the dish.
- Remember the universal braising sauce ratio: [water 6 : soy sauce 1 : mirin 0.5 : sugar 0.5]—this formula works easily for other vegetables or meats.
- If pork belly isn't available, try adding steamed fu yu (tofu skin) or cook with potatoes, onions, or other root vegetables—they pair well too.
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