Tokachi Butadon (Japanese Pork Bowl Rice)

Ingredients:

450g pork belly

1/4 tsp salt

1 scallion ~ chopped for garnish

Sauce

1/2 cup sake/Chinese Rice wine

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup mirin

40g light brown sugar

2 cloves garlic ~ mashed

Directions/Instructions:

1. Add all the sauce ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to keep the pot from boiling over, and cook the sauce until the bubbles become big and glossy or the sauce has reached a temperature of 230deg F / 110deg C
2. Sprinkle the pork belly evenly with salt. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat until very hot, and then add the pork in a single layer. Fry until slightly browned on one side, flip it over, and fry the second. Transfer to a plate and repeat until all the pork has been fried.
3. After the last piece of pork has been fried, wipe out the oil from the pan. Add 1/4 cup of the sauce to the pan, reduce until it is very thick and viscous, and then return the pork to the pan. Flip the meat around several times until it is glazed with the sauce.
4. Transfer the pork to a wire rack set over a heat-proof plate. Use a kitchen torch to brown the glaze and meat until it is lightly charred around the edges. Alternatively, grill the pork and brush the sauce between grillings until lightly toasted.
5. To assemble the pork, add a portion of rice to large bowls. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of sauce around the rice. Arrange the grilled pork on the rice and garnish with chopped scallions.