Poached and marinated pork (Nibuta)

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With summer just around the corner, I like to think of food that can be made well ahead and tastes great served cold, or at least cool, to keep me out of a hot kitchen. The vegetable part of this is usually taken care of with seasonal vegetable salads and the like. If the protein part means meat, I like to have pre-cooked pieces tucked away in the freezer.

One of my favorite cold meats is poached and marinated pork, or _nibuta_. (_Ni_ means to cook in liquid, and _buta_ is pig.) It’s very easy to make, stores beautifully in the refrigerator for about a week or much longer in the freezer, and of course, tastes great - savory, slightly sweet, and very juicy. It can be sliced very thinly or julienned for one-dish meal salads or in sandwiches, or chopped up and added to stir-fries, wraps, and so on. It’s a great addition to a bento box. It can be cubed or coarsely ground and used instead of _char siu_ (roast pork) in steamed buns or bao [2]. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

There’s one unusual ‘secret’ ingredient in the poaching liquid - one umeboshi or salt-cured plum. You can omit this if you like, but adding just one umeboshi seems to de-fat the meat a bit more than just poaching, plus making it taste a bit cleaner and fresher in an interesting way.

Recipe: Japanese Poached and Marinated Pork (Nibuta)

An easy alternative to roast pork, this can be sliced and used for salads, stir-fries, as a cold appetizer or main dish, and more. It lasts in the refrigerator for a week, or can be frozen. It’s best to make this with a cut of meat that isn’t totally lean, so don’t use an expensive cut like tenderloin or filet. It should have a little marbling, just like ham. Quite a lot of the fat will end up in the poaching liquid, which you can just throw out or skim off.

Prep time: 10 min :: Cook time: 90 min :: Total time: 1 h 40 min

Ingredients:

1kg (2.2lb) pork roast, not too lean
1 punch green onions or leek tops
1 big piece fresh ginger, sliced
1 umeboshi (pickled plum), optional, but good to have
2 cup (880ml) regular dark soy sauce, Yamasa, Kikkoman, etc.
1/4 cup (60ml) sugar, a sugar substitute can be used
1/4 cup (60ml) mirin
1/4 cups (60ml) sake
1 fragment star anise, not a whole star anise or it will be too strong

Directions:

If you want your pork to be nicely shaped, tie it up with the kitchen twine neatly. You don’t have to do this if you can’t be bothered.
In the meantime, put the green onions or leek tops, ginger slices, and umeboshi in a pot with enough water to cover the pork. Bring to a boil, then put the meat in. Lower the heat until it’s barely simmering, put on a lid, and poach for 90 minutes. Let cool a bit in the liquid.
While the pork is cooking, combine the marinade ingredients - soy sauce, sugar, mirin and sake plus star anise - in a smaller pan and bring to the boil. Let cool.
Put the marinade and the still warm, well drained pork into a plastic bag. Close tightly, and place in a bowl to catch any leaks. Let marinate, turning every so often, for about an hour or more. Store in the refrigerator until cold.
The pork can be kept like this in the marinade in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or, take out of the marinade and store in the freezer (optionally cut into smaller pieces for easy use and defrosting). Best served cold and thinly sliced.

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By Makiko Itoh

Published: May 08, 2007

Type: japanese, meat, pork

Notes

The marinade itself can be defatted. Put it into the refrigerator until the fat has congealed, then strain) and used as a sauce, either on the meat or for other dishes. It keeps for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

You could try to use the poaching liquid as a soup base, but I don’t find the flavor that good somehow (the ginger and leek combo make it too strong) so I just throw it out.

Defrost nibuta in the fridge overnight, rather than in the microwave which can dry it out.