Creative Meals for Today's Cook

Miso-Coated Pork Belly with Noodles in Broth

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Have you tried pork belly? Essentially it’s bigger, thicker, uncured bacon. If you’re a fan, then this is something you need to make! Miso-Coated Pork Belly with Noodles in Broth I was going up and down the aisles of my local grocery store when a sexy little magazine cover caught my eye. No, it wasn’t that kind of magazine. Or maybe it was… I suppose it depends on where your mind goes. That sexy little thing seductively looking back at me was a big bowl of Noodles in Dashi with Miso-Coated Pork Belly, in the most recent issue of Saveur magazine. Miso-Coated Pork Belly with Noodles in Broth The dish was warm, comforting, and omg is the pork belly fantastic! I made a few adjustments to the dish for the ease of purchasing ingredients and also layering in a more flavor. To the miso mix, I added gochujang, a Korean fermented chili paste that adds incredible depth of flavor as well as a kick of heat to dishes. It’s one of my favorite ingredients to use and it really adds another dimension to the pork belly. Instead of using dashi, a Japanese broth made with kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (fermented skipjack tuna), I made a simple ginger infused chicken broth. I really liked the richness of the chicken broth and the way the ginger adds such wonderful aroma and zest to balance out the flavors.

There’s only 1 cup of broth allotted to each bowl with all of those noodles.  What gives, is this a soup or what? Well, not perhaps in the traditional sense. The broth is really there to make the noodles perfectly slurp-able while adding a nice layer of flavor. You may have noticed that in the video, I fill up the bowl quite a bit with the broth. You may have also noticed that I removed some of the broth in the following shot. You’ll have to forgive me, I’m still tweaking my newly acquired video skills. You really want just enough broth to coat the noodles, so they’re wading in the broth rather than swimming. So while I polish up on my video skills, you can  be polishing off a bowl of crispy miso-coated pork belly, with super slurp-able noodles. Enjoy! Miso-Coated Pork Belly with Noodles in Broth  

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Miso-Coated Pork Belly with Noodles in Broth
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Recipe type: Entrée
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2 people
 
Incredibly rich pieces of miso-coated pork belly, on a bed of slurptastic noodles, in a delicate pool of ginger-chicken broth.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • ½ inch ginger, thinly sliced
  • ½ pound skinless pork belly, cut into ½-inch pieces
  • ¼ cup red miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons sake
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon gochujang
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
  • 2 ounces mung bean sprouts
  • 2 bundles of somen noodles (about 6 ounces), or other wheat noodle
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 pinches saffron threads (optional)
Instructions
  1. Pour the chicken broth and ginger slices into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid, and allow to sit.
  2. Pat the pieces of pork belly dry. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the pork belly and ½ tablespoon of water. Allow to cook, flipping the pieces occasionally, until the outside is golden-brown and the fat has rendered - about 10 - 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a plate lined with paper towels and wipe the pan clean.
  3. While the pork is cooking - in a medium sized bowl combine the miso, sake, mirin, brown sugar, and gochujang. Toss the cooked pork belly in the bowl, making sure to coat each piece.
  4. Transfer the miso-coated pork to the pan, set over medium heat. Cook until the sauce thickens and the pork gets a sticky glaze on it - about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the sesame seeds.
  5. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the mung beans and cook for 1 minute, until tender. (Don't pour out the water or turn off the heat). Remove the mung beans with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
  6. Add the noodles to the pot of hot water and cook according to the package directions (erring on the lower time for a more al dente noodle). Drain the noodles and divide them evenly among the bowls. Remove the ginger from the chicken broth and pour the liquid over the noodles. Add the miso-coated pork belly, mung beans, scallions, and saffron. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
* Recipe adapted from Saveur Magazine, Noodles in Dashi with Miso-Coated Pork Belly.
Miso-Coated Pork Belly with Noodles in Broth

Comments

  1. Just loving your videos with these up beat tunes! Now these are some slurping delicious noodles… I know pork belly is one of those once in awhile must haves so addictive and crispy. Sharing, pinned and smoke signal sent!

    • Pork belly is special ingredient for me too! I have to temper my binges so I don’t become too indulgent 😛

  3. i am really feeling the ginger chicken broth adaptation, kathleen. to me, it makes so much sense. then the gochujang makes it next level, right? what is so awesome about this is how you are kind of making a cool version of miso soup as you chew… ok, that was gross in type, but in my head that sounded insightful and revolutionary. rather than deleting that sentence, i thought i would give you a ewwwww giggle. your welcome 🙂 another trip to uwajimaya this week for some berkshire pork belly is due~

  4. Love this! Pork belly recipes always seem to take hours, so it is amazing how relatively quick this is – and warming, spicy soup is the best. So gorgeous x

  5. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I never would have noticed!! i.e. the scooping out of soup in the video 😉 I make bugger ups in my videos all the time, that was NOTHING!!! PS I had no idea Saveur had a magazine. Totally would have caught my eye too. I am in love with pork belly and we are totally in sync because I’m going to send you pics of failed pork belly recipes I made on the weekend!!! N x

    • Yes, send me pics! And I can send you a few of many pictures of my burnt toast. That’s right, I screw up what is probably the easiest thing to make 😛

  6. Your video skills look great to me! So does this pork belly noodle bowl! I have to be honest and admit that I’ve never had pork belly that I know of. Clearly that needs to change because this looks so yummy!

  7. Pork belly sounds super intriguing, Kathleen! This one looks absolutely divine, perfect for any weeknight meal!

  8. I thought of pork belly immediately when you mentioned a sexy little thing on the cover of a magazine – what else would you mean!? 😉 Pork belly is honestly one of the best things on the planet, but, alas, I’ve never had the miso-coated variety. Soon to be corrected.

    Digging the videos too, Kathleen! Nice work…

    • Thanks, Nami! The sticky miso coating gets all over the noodles – so it’s definitely slurptastic! 😉

  11. Pork belly + noodles = awesome! Well actually, pork belly itself is super awesome. I am addicted to the tender, fatty, meaty stuff and will slow braise it 2-3 times a month. I always make a big batch to have leftovers to incorporate into other meals too. Loving your noodle soup recipe so much and I can totally understand how Saveur’s cover pic convinced you to make your own version. It’s freezing up here in New Hampshire so this is perfect for me to make for dinner one night and have yummy leftovers for lunch. Thank you 🙂 p.s. thanks also for making another yummy recipe with gochujang. I’m slowly but surely using up mine.

    • Damn… you slow braise tender meat stuff 2-3 times a week?! I’m coming to your house! You better be thankful I’m not on the east coast anymore – I’d be knocking on your door in the middle of the night 😛

    • Thanks, Jasline! The stronger taste of the red miso really held up nicely when paired with the pork belly.

  13. Pork belly – this is what we call bacon in Bulgaria 🙂 I love it, but rarely buy this kind of meat! Looks perfect! And I’m excited to try this dish, just need to get a few more ingredients!

    • Well apparently then I need to go to Bulgaria and get some bacon, that’s what I’m talking about! 😛

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