Braised soy-glazed pork belly (Buta no kakuni)

1. Cut the pork belly into roughly 5 cm cubes and brown them on all sides in a dry frying pan.

2. Put the cubes into a pot, cover with the water, add the green tops of the spring onions and the sliced ginger, and simmer covered for 1.5 hours.

3. Meanwhile, hard-boil the eggs for 8 minutes, cool and peel them.

4. Lift out the pork and discard the cooking water (this carries away excess fat), then return the meat to the pot with the sake, soy sauce, mirin, sugar and 300 ml of fresh water.

5. Add the eggs, cover with a circle of baking paper and simmer gently for another 40-50 minutes, until the liquid has reduced to a thick, glossy glaze and the meat is butter-soft.

6. Serve the cubes with the halved eggs and the glaze, topped with sliced spring onion and a little mustard, alongside rice.

Tip: Kakuni comes from Nagasaki, where Chinese traders brought the recipe for braised pork belly. It's even better the next day: in the fridge the fat sets on top and is easy to lift off before reheating.