Home-style ── Machi-chuka (Japanese-Chinese diner food)
Chashu
Chashu — soy-braised pork, the simmered style that became standard in Japanese ramen
Pork belly or leg is simmered slowly in a soy-based sauce — where China's char siu is traditionally roasted with a glaze, the simmered 'nibuta' style is said to have become the standard at Japanese ramen shops instead.
What it's made of
Chopsticks pull it apart with a soft give, the cut face soaked through with the color of a soy-based sauce. Rather than the fragrance of a seared surface, it's the fat and sweetness of long-simmered meat that comes first, a different flavor profile from China's char siu, built to show off the char of roasting.
How it's made
Pork belly or leg is rolled into shape and simmered low and slow in a stock of soy sauce, sake, and sugar. The braising liquid is often used as part of the ramen broth itself, and simmering time and heat are said to decide how tender the meat turns out. Some shops sear the surface afterward for extra fragrance, but simmering remains the standard method.
Why it took this shape
One account holds that where Chinese-style char siu needs a roasting oven, Japanese ramen shops found it took less effort and equipment to simmer the pork in the same large pot as the soup, and that's thought to be how the simmered style spread. Being able to handle the soup and the topping in a single pot is said to be one reason this became the standard way to prepare chashu.
Before you go
- Yokohama ChinatownSaid to be one of the largest Chinatowns in Japan, with more than 150 Chinese restaurants and food shops. Offerings range widely from street snacks to formal course meals.
- How to shop at a supermarketHow to choose prepared foods, sashimi, and packaged sushi, when discount stickers tend to appear, region-only specialties, buying by weight, the checkout and bagging flow, and sampling etiquette at a local supermarket.
- Foods to look for in summerA guide to foods often seen in Japan around summer — eel on the Day of the Ox, hiyashi chuka, somen, shaved ice, edamame with beer, and hamo — with rough pointers for finding them.
Dishes in the same style
- Annin-dofuA dessert descended from Chinese medicinal cooking that uses apricot kernels. In Japan it is often made with milk and almond essence, and the Hong Kong style of fruit and jelly floating in syrup took hold at Chinese restaurants and in school lunches.
- BambanjiSteamed chicken pulled into shreds and dressed with a sauce rich in ground sesame, served cold. It is based on a Sichuan dish, and in Japan a milder, sweeter sesame sauce with cucumber and other vegetables became the norm.