Use your instant pot to make this melt-in-your-mouth Pressure Cooker Pork Belly (Kakuni)! Enjoy the dish with steaming bowl of rice, and it could well be your family’s favorite recipe.
I received many requests for more Instant Pot recipes after I shared my Slow Cooker Chicken Wings recipe. I love my Instant Pot. This electric cooker has both pressure cooker and slow cooker functions.
Today I’m sharing one of my favorite and super delicious Instant Pot recipes, Pressure Cooker Pork Belly (Kakuni)! I really hope you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as my family does.
MY LATEST RECIPESWatch How To Make Pressure Cooker Pork Belly プレッシャークッカーで作る角煮の作り方
Make delicious melt-in-your-mouth pressure cooker pork belly. The Japanese name for this dish is Kakuni (角煮) and it simply tastes amazing with rice.
If you’ve never had Japanese pork belly dish called Kakuni (角煮)… oh my gosh, where should I begin? It’s my favorite Japanese pork dish. The tender pork cooking for hours simply melt in your mouth and the sweet and savory sauce…ah, it’s hard not to drool thinking about it. Seriously.
Making Kakuni with a Pressure Cooker
Whether you’re already familiar with how to make Kakuni on stove top or had never made it before, I highly recommend making Kakuni with a pressure cooker. Why? Because you can cook it FAST. Much, much, faster than on a stove top. This special dish that you used to prepare once in a while will soon become a weeknight repertoire. When you cook pork belly over the stove top, it takes a while (hours) to get the pork super tender and you need to constantly monitor the temperature and amount of liquid remaining in the pot. With a pressure cooker, these worries go away and the process is very simple.
Still hesitant about buying a pressure cooker because of the memories from your mom’s old fashioned pressure cooker? I definitely was. My mom has this stove top pressure cooker that makes everyone nervous when it makes a hissing, whistling, and rattling sound. I was used to hearing the sound, yet for a longest time (and still), I don’t feel safe using it by myself in my own kitchen.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
However, having the Instant Pot changed me. This electric pressure cooker is very easy and user-friendly. Even though it is both a slow cooker and pressure cooker, I actually use pressure cooker function more often than slow cooker function. Why? It cuts down cooking time significantly, and it’s a perfect cooking gadget for busy cooks!
I hope you enjoy my Kakuni recipe using a pressure cooker. I had never used other types/brands of pressure cooker so for instructions on how to use your device, please refer to the manual.
In case you’re interested, I put the recipe below for my regular Kakuni recipe you can make using stove top.
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- 3 green onions/scallions (use only the green parts)
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 Tbsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
- 2 lb pork belly block (2 lb = 907 g)
- Water (for cooking pork belly)
- 4 boiled eggs
- Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven spice) (for taste, optional)
- ¼ cup sake (¼ cup = 60 ml)
- ½ cup water (½ cup = 120 ml)
- ½ cup mirin (½ cup = 120 ml)
- ½ cup soy sauce (½ cup = 120 ml)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (¼ cup = 50 g)
Gather all the ingredients.
- We will only use the green parts of the green onions (use the white parts in miso soup to go with this dish). Cut the green parts in half. Peel the ginger and slice it thinly.
- On the pressure cooker, press the “Sauté” button on your Instant Pot and heat the oil. Cook the pork belly. You can skip this part to cut down the cooking time, but this process will render more fat and make the dish tastier.
- Pour water to cover the meat, then add the green onions and sliced ginger. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at “sealing” and not “venting”. Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button on the Instant Pot to stop cooking. Press the “meat/Stew” button to switch to the pressure cooking mode. Cook under pressure for 35 minutes. If you’re using a stove-top pressure cooker, you won’t have the buttons to press. Just cook on high heat until high pressure is reached. Then reduce the heat to low to maintain high pressure for about 30 minutes.
- When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to a “Keep Warm” mode. Slide the steam release handle to the "Venting" position to let out steam until the float valve drops down, OR let the pressure release naturally (takes about 15 mins). Unlock the lid and drain the cooking water and discard the green onion and ginger. Rinse the pork belly under warm water.
- Put the pork belly back in the Instant Pot and add water, sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar. Mix the seasonings a little bit and add the boiled eggs. Press the “Sauté” button on the Instant Pot and press “Adjust” once to increase the heat. Bring it to simmer to let the alcohol evaporate. Once the alcohol smell is gone, press “Keep Warm/Cancel” button to turn off the Sauté mode. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at “sealing” and not “venting”. Press the “meat/Stew” button to turn on the pressure cooking mode. Press the “minus” button to decrease the cooking time from the preset 35 minutes to 10 minutes.
- When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to a “Keep Warm” mode. Slide the steam release handle to the "Venting" position to let out steam until the float valve drops down and unlock the lid. If you have time (this is optional), press the “Sauté” button and simmer on low heat until the liquid in the cooker has reduced by half.
- Serve the rice in a (donburi) bowl and pour the sauce on top. Place the pork belly and egg (add blanched green vegetable if you have any). Pour additional sauce over the meat and serve immediately. If you like it a bit spicy, sprinkle shichimi toagarashi (Japanese seven spice).
Equipment you will need:
- Pressure Cooker (6 QT Instant Pot) (or other pressure cooker)
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
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Baby Sumo
Looks great and so good that you can cook it in less time 🙂
John/Kitchen Riffs
Love pork belly! Never had it prepared this way, however. It looks amazing! Really, really good. 😉 Thanks so much for this.
A_Boleyn
What a delicious and rich sounding dish. 🙂
Eha
Lovely simple pork recipe I’ll certainly try! Don’t have a pressure cooker and my small kitchen seems full of all kinds of cooking utensils already: no problem – since I work from home the change of ‘hats’ from scribe to chef is easy and the lovely aromas drifting from the pot on the stovetop in the kitchen most welcome. Hoping you are having fine and happy days and that the children are enjoying all their Japanese activities 🙂 !
Nami
Hi Eha! I didn’t own a pressure cooker (this slow cooker/pressure cooker in one) until last year. I HATE having another big gadget (no space to store it) but I received Instant Pot as a gift… but I really like it! I didn’t expect that I enjoy this gadget so much. 🙂 At the same time I enjoy cooking on the stove top too… I love hanging out in the kitchen smelling all the nice aroma! I’m having a good time in Japan. Thank you!!
Hotly Spiced
I love pork belly but have only ever had it Thai-style. I will have to try the Japanese version. I do love the look of your boiled eggs xx
Medeja
Omg! I am sure that pork is just melting in the mouth!
Lokness @ The Missing Lokness
I have one of those pressure cooker pot too. But I struggle to find a way to use it. Love this pork belly recipe! The pork looks very tender and juicy. Totally trying it soon!
Monica
Boy, this looks so delicious and there are so many possible ways to enjoy this pork belly! I am so interested in getting a pressure cooker but I just haven’t seen enough recipes for it to make me feel comfortable in getting one. This is a great start.
Junghee Simon
Looks easy and delicious!
Nami
Thanks so much! It is indeed. I like making this when I don’t have much time. 🙂
Raymund
Pressure cooking this would be good idea, I bet the meat is so tender and that fat melts on your mouth,. Yum!
Fern @ To Food with Love
How convenient to cook this in a short amount of time! I’ve never used a pressure cooker before (a little scared of using one! haha). But it sure sounds useful! Lovely dish Nami!
Sandra
This looks delicious Nami! I have never used a pressure cooker but this recipe is tempting me to get one.
Gourmet Getaways
Oh gosh, Nami – that dish is right up our alley! There’s just something about pork belly thats irresistible. Love those eggs, too!
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
thischris
Hi Nami:
I went ahead and got the Instant Pot because I wanted one device to take the place of my slow cooker and pressure cooker. I made the kakuni and it was really great. Thanks so much for introducing me to the recipe and the device. What I like the best is how easy it is to clean up. There’s no grease splatter or the risk of burnt food since the machine switches to warm after the set time. Are you planning to post any more recipes that use the Instant Pot?
Nami
Hi thischris! So happy to hear your feedback and thanks for writing! Isn’t this machine awesome?!?! I always wanted to get both devices but I didn’t have space for them, so I’m super happy with my Instant Pot. I’m glad that your kakuni came out well too!
Yes, I’m planning to share more recipes using this device in the future. Thank you once again!
Albert Katsuyama
Now that you have a pressure cooker, do you think you can come with a recipe for a Chinese mochi called Gau
http://www.hawaiianelectric.com/heco/_hidden_Hidden/Recipes/Gau-(Chinese-rice-dessert)
I would think that a pressure cooker would really cut back on the 4 hour steaming time.
Nami
I need to try tasting this mochi first! I have no idea how it tastes like. It seems very simple to make with a few ingredients. 🙂
Albert Katsuyama
There are other variants of Gau recipe using coconut milk to replace some of the water. Brown sugar can be used to replace the wong tong (Chinese slab sugar, labeled brown sugar candy)
Dora
Thanks for sharing this recipe! Please post more recipes using the Instant Pot! Hubby got one for me 2 weeks ago as his anniversary gift to me! It’s been great and cuts down on cooking time significantly for me!
Nami
Hi Dora! Happy Anniversary! I’m hoping to post more Instant Pot recipes this winter. I’m waiting for my kitchen remodel is finished and I can start cooking again. 🙂
Sasha
just bought the instant pot and now I know the first dish I want to try with it…this looks/sounds amazing. Thanks so much again for a wonderful recipe!
Nami
Hi Sasha! AWESOME! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Priyanka
Hi Nami! I made this for dinner last night in the Instapot and it was PHENOMENAL!!!! Thank you so much. It is such a simple, yet richly flavored and delicious dish. I served it with sushi rice. We had the leftovers today and they were just as yummy (if not more!) after the flavors saturated overnight. Thank you!!!
<3 Priyanka @ Priyankaskitchen.com
Nami
Hi Priyanka!!! So happy to hear from you! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Yeah the leftover is amazing (plus we can remove the fat once it’s cold, so it’s a bit healthier too). I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback. xoxo
Amy
Hi Nami! I tried your pressure cooker short ribs recipe and it was delicious. I just got the Instant Pot pressure cooker and was so thrilled to not only find your recipe but to also see you using the Instant Pot. This pork belly dish looks tasty, though I don’t have pork belly right now. Do you think it would work if I used pork tenderloins? Thanks!
Nami
Hi Amy! I’m so glad to hear you liked the pressure cooker short rib recipe! Yes, I love instant pot and try to share more Japanese instant pot recipes (Did you see my recent Japanese Curry recipe using instant pot?). Pork belly has good fat to make the meat very tender. Never used pork tenderloin for this recipe, but I know for sure that the meat will be tougher and won’t be “melting” texture… If you’re used to lean meat you might be okay, but if you love Kakuni or pork belly texture, I’d say you might be disappointed with the result if you use tenderloin. Sorry! It’s hard to beat the pork belly texture (and fat content is very different…).
Amy
Thanks Nami! I ended up making it with both pork tenderloin and a little bit of pork belly I had left and it was still pretty good. I haven’t checked out your curry recipe but I’ll take a look. Would love to see more pressure cooker recipes if you have any! Thanks again!
Nami
Hi Amy! I’ll continue to share more pressure cooker recipes (but I can’t share all the time as not everyone has it… :)). Thank you so much for your feedback! I truly appreciate it!
Tim
Thanks for the recipe!!! It is great! Can you recommend another cut of meat to substitute for pork belly b/c pork belly are very fat so I can only cook this dish twice a year. Thanks in advance.
Nami
Hi Tim! I’m glad to hear you liked the recipe! You can use pork shoulder (this is my next choice) or loin (but it won’t be as ‘melting’ and the meat is not as tender). 🙂
Just One Cookbook Fan
I bought an Instant Pot after reading your blog and I made this dish last night. It was delicious! Looking forward to more of your recipes =)
Nami
Yay!!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! I’ll share more Instant Pot recipes this fall/winter! 🙂
hmucha
Hi, I made this and it was delicious.
Instead of 2 steps (35 min, 10 min), could those be combined into one step? Eg put green onion, garlic, soy sauce, mirin, etc and cook for 45 min, then remove green onion and garlic? I guess it would be harder to see the green onion and garlic, but it would make the recipe easier…
Nami
Hi hmucha! In Japanese cooking, it’s important to have “clean” flavor, and we consider this pre-boiling (before seasoning) is an important step. We need to throw away the water you cook the pork, and after cleaning the pork, finally we can season it. It’s not the green onion and garlic that we don’t need. That helps the smell reduced. We don’t want that unwanted flavor and fat from the pork… Hope this makes sense. 🙂
Penny Duthie
Just made this!! Fantastic my husband said and great that there is one piece over for tomorrow, thank you for posting!!!!
Nami
Hi Penny! Yay! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Sallye
Recipe looks great! How and when can I add pickled mustard greens?
Nami
Hi Sallye! I think you can just add it as a topping after serving the meat. If you’re talking about pickled one… you don’t need to cook it. 🙂
Wendy
Thank you for this great recipe！I make it at least 2 times a month and my family loves it! The meat is just melts in your mouth and only take 1/2 hour to make!
Nami
Hi Wendy! So happy to hear you like this recipe! Isn’t it great? Thank you for your kind feedback! xo
Alan Stanley
This was fantastic! I’ve made it a few times already. I prefer it with a poached egg to a hard cooked, but the sauce and the meat are just about perfect.
Thank you.
Nami
Hi Alan! I’m so happy to hear you like this recipe! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
Kyouko
Hi Nami!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe – I was wondering in addition to adding eggs, could you also add other vegetables like carrots or potatoes into the pressure cooker when cooking the pork belly? Having the veggies cook in the sauce sounds like it’ll be really yummy!
Nami
Hi Kyouko! Sure you can do that. BUT vegetables tend to cook really fast in a pressure cooker. So if you don’t like mushy vegetables, you can release the pressure and add the vegetables toward the end, or cut vegetables slightly bigger (so it takes longer to cook). Hope this helps! 🙂
TYSON
Is there a substitute for the pork belly (can’t find it locally) or does that defeat the recipe?
Nami
Hi Tyson! I really believe fatty pork belly is the best fit for this recipe, but you might be able to use pork shoulder…but it’ll be more dry. Pork belly can be found in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Mexican market as well as butchers (that’s what I know of in my local stores). Hope you can find it. 🙂
Amy
I’m making this for a large crowd. Have you ever doubled the recipe and, if so, did you double the sauce mix or change the cooking time? Thanks!
Nami
Hi Amy! I have never doubled the recipe, but as long as it doesn’t exceed the limid for the pressure cooker, it should be okay. I’d increase the sauce as well (same portion) so that it has enough sauce when you serve. 🙂
Sandy
Hi Amy,
I doubled this recipe on my first try and it tasted amazing. My pork belly did not look as pretty as the pictures but still delicious and when it was all eaten up I was kind of sad there wasn’t more for left overs.
Hi Nami,
More instant pot recipes please 🙂 No pressure but I bought the instant pot just for this recipe, it was a great success and I’m excited to try more!
Sincerely,
Sandy
Nami
Hi Sandy! Thank you for responding to Amy! I’m glad it came out well! 🙂
Cool you got an IP! I have more recipes coming, the newest one will be Oxtail Soup. Sorry I haven’t edited yet so I’ll probably need some time before sharing… 🙂
Eric
Hi Nami!
Thanks for sharing all these Instant Pot recipes, I wouldn’t know how to use my pressure cooker otherwise! In regards to the sake, is there a type of sake that’s specifically used to cook with or is any sake from the store okay?
Eric
Nami
Hi Eric! You’re very welcome, thank you for checking out my recipes. 🙂 I use one of three sake I listed here (based on which one is on sale…). 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/sake/
Ben
This was delicious. Everyone really enjoyed the melt in your mouth pork fat. Personally, I might try it again with a little less sugar.
Nami
Hi Ben! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Yes, you can use less sugar if you like. 🙂
natalie
Hi! My instant pot (philips brand) does not have a sauté function. Can I skip the step? Thank you!!
Nami
Hi Natalie! I see. Yeah I guess you have no choice. Cooking/Sauteeing meat and vegetables before actual pressure cooking only adds more flavors and complexity from browning the ingredients.
Smile286
I don’t have any sake. Is there something else I can substitute or leave out the alcohol altogether? Thank you!
Nami
If you can take alcohol, best substitute is Chinese rice wine or dry sherry. 🙂 If you can’t take it due to religious reason, then need the same amount of water. Hope this helps!
Gayle Asano
Oh. My. Made your braused pork belly today. Even better than I anticipated.
Thanjs so much.
Nami
Hi Gayle! So happy to hear that! Thanks so much for your very kind feedback! xo 🙂
AC
Just made this tonight and it was awesome! My husband is Japanese and he loved it, so you know it’s legit. The only thing i regret is not taking your advice, Nami, to use slab pork belly (rather than pre-cut). I bought pre-cut and it cooked down to shredded pieces, rather than the fatty, juicy cubes that we’re used to having in izakayas here in L.A. Next time, I will follow the recipe to a tee. Either way, we thoroughly enjoyed this recipe and we both voted it to be a keeper in our household! Thank you for the amazing dish. Loved it!
Nami
Hi AC! I do not know why I didn’t get email notification of your comment, but I might accidentally delete it. I just saw it… I’m sorry!
Thank you for trying this recipe! Actually this is pre-cut recipe. My other Kakuni recipe (https://www.justonecookbook.com/braised-pork-belly-kakuni/) uses a block. This sliced pork belly cut is from Korean, so they are thick cut, compared to Japanese pork belly slices.
Selina
Hi Nami,
Hope you are doing well! May I know how the pork used for Kakuni called/labelled in Japan (supermarket)? Sorry I’m quite new to Japan, so I’m not used to the Japanese supermarket yet. I can’t seem to find pork with enough fat to make this dish 🙁 All look pretty lean to me…
Have a nice evening!
Nami
Hi Selina! Buta Bara 豚バラ肉 is the sliced pork belly BUT Japanese sliced pork belly are thinner cut than the one I used here as I got these from Korean supermarket. They sell 豚バラ in a block too… I forget how it was written. 🙁 I’m going there in 2 days… I’ll check the grocery store. If you still need my help, could you email or respond to this comment so I get a reminder? 🙂
Selina
Hi Nami,
Thanks a lot for the advice. I would really appreciate if you could help to check the name of pork belly in the Korean supermarket when you happen to go there 🙂 I bought the Japanese sliced pork belly few days ago to make Yakisoba and I think the cut is too thin for making Kakuni. I’m afraid that the meat and the fat may fall off after being braised.
Thank you in advance, and have a nice day!
Nami
Hi Selina! What I meant was to go back to Japan in 2 days. So I can go to supermarket and find the pork belly for kakuni block. That’s what you need, right? Yes, Japanese pork belly slices are like bacon, very thin. So You might want to cook as a block or slice thick yourself or cut after being cooked. 🙂
Selina
Hi Nami,
Oh I see! Sorry for the misunderstanding. Yup please help me check out the kakuni block when you are back to Japan, but only at your convenience 🙂 I understand that it’s your family trip so it’s okay if you don’t have time for that.
Thank you in advance!
Selina
Hi Nami,
I went to the supermarket again yesterday and I think I found it this time. The name is 豚バラブロック, is it correct?
Nami
Hi Selina! I apologize for my late response. I had been traveling and didn’t get a chance to go to grocery store to take a pic yet. Yes, it is!! Yay!!!
Selina
Hi Nami,
No worries! And thanks for the confirmation 🙂
By the way, I saw your photos updated on your Facebook. Very nice photos! Hope your family had a great trip 🙂
Alice
Tried the recipe last week. Loved it! Question: if I were to double the serving size, should I double the seasonings? What about the time in pressure cooker? Thanks!!
Nami
Hi Alice! So glad to hear you liked it! Thank you for your kind feedback. You should double the seasonings as well, and cooking time should be same as long as cooking condition is the same. 🙂
Yvonne Chau
Hi in the step 6 above of pork belly recipe, my instant pot didn’t heat up to simmer. even being on for 30mins. Followed exactly your instruction but couldn’t bring it to simmer. Very frustrated. Have to heat it up in a separate pot on stove top to evaporate. Any idea why this is happening? Thank you.
Nami
Hi Yvonne! Trying to think why – it doesn’t take that long to get the liquid boiling (in video, you see boiling stage around 2:11). Did you work on a bigger batch? Maybe some condiments were very cold? Your pork wasn’t cold uncooked meat (skipped previous step), right? I am not sure what is wrong in the situation… It’s not much liquid, so liquid + meat in the pot should’t require over 30 mins to start boiling…
Kenya
Do I have to include eggs in this recipe?
Nami
Hi Kenya! Nope, no need. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Kenya
ohenji arigato. yoi ichinichio
I asked my good friend Minori how to say this, lol I hope I said the right thing. Thanks
Nami
Arigato Kenya!
Yes you got it right! 🙂
Bonster
I can’t believe how good this is! I made it tonight and It is the best pork belly I’ve ever had by far. I’ve tried all of your pressure cooker recipes, they all turned out so well. Thank you so much!
Nami
Hi Bonster! I’m glad you enjoyed this dish! I’m going to post next pressure cooker recipe soon.. I’ve been delaying for 2 months! Hope you will like that too. 🙂