HOW TO PREPARE PORK BELLY SLICES & GREENS HOT POT?

Product(s):

HOT POT | PORK BELLY RIND-ON WITH SOFT BONE SLICES (500G)

Preparation Time: 15 mins / Cook: 30 mins / Serving: 4

Ingredients:

Dashi
8 cups water, plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
2 (6-by-3-inch) pieces konbu
3 packed cups (1 ½ ounces) bonito flakes

1 x HOT POT | PORK BELLY RIND-ON WITH SOFT BONE SLICES (500G)
4 cups dashi
½ cup mirin
½ cup usukuchi (“light,” not low-sodium) soy sauce
2 negi (Japanese green onions), sliced on an angle into 2-inch pieces
8 cups stemmed spinach
Scant 4 cups trimmed and cut mizuna (a Japanese mustard), trimmed and stems cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups shungiku (chrysanthemum leaves), stemmed
2 cups watercress (about ½ pound)
Several baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise, or two regular bok choy, cut into small pieces
Ground white pepper, for garnish

Method:

1. To prepare the broth, in a medium bowl, combine the dashi, mirin & soy sauce.
2. In a pot (such as a Japanese clay donabe or cast-iron Dutch oven), place the negi, then pour in the broth.
3. Cover the pot & bring it to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to a simmer, uncover the pot & add the pork belly, arranging the slices on top of the negi. When the hot pot returns to a simmer, continue to cook for 3 minutes. Add the spinach, mizuna, shungiku leaves, watercress & baby bok choy in a random pile on top of the pork belly. Cover & simmer until the greens are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes; gently press the greens into the broth if necessary for even cooking.
4. Transfer the hot pot to the dining table. Serve the ingredients together with the broth in small bowls, garnishing with the white pepper.
5. Alternatively, this can be cooked tableside with a portable gas burner: Arrange the ingredients on serving platters. After preparing the broth, do all the cooking at the dining table. Add the negi all at once. Then cook a little of the greens & pork belly at a time.