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1
Peel the daikon radish thickly, and then shave the edges of the slices off.
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2
Parboil the daikon radish in the rinsing water from washing rice, or with 1 tablespoon of rice added to plain water.
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3
Parboil for about 20 minutes.
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4
When the daikon radish is translucent, drain and rinse.
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5
Line the pan with kombu, add fresh water and simmer the daikon radish again.
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6
If you don't have kombu, you can add some mentsuyu to the water and simmer the daikon radish.
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7
I didn't have a lot of kombu, so I added both.
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8
Slice the pork belly in to 1 cm thick pieces.
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9
Brown the pork well in a frying pan without adding oil.
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10
Wipe away any excess grease or fat that runs out of the meat.
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11
Bring a pan of water to a boil and boil the browned pork to remove more oil (about 5 minutes).
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12
Put the parboiled daikon radish and pork in a deep pot, and add enough water to cover.
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13
Then add the sake, mirin, and sugar.
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14
Bring to a boil.
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15
When it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low, add the soy sauce and simmer.
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16
I put the pot over a portable stove/heater in the winter to simmer this.
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17
After simmering for about 15 minutes, taste.
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18
It's OK if the taste is rather light, but you can adjust by adding mentsuyu if you prefer.
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19
Simmer for as long as you like.
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20
You can decide when to stop by looking at the color of the daikon radish.
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21
The liquid in the pot should be reduced to about half its original volume.
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22
Bonus: If you cut each 4 cm thick piece of daikon radish into about 6 pieces, it will cook a lot faster.
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23
If you do this, reduce the seasoning ingredients to 2 tablespoons each.
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24
Bonus 2: If you don't mind the flavors blending in, use chicken, bacon, fish, atsuage... anything you like.
