Use your Instant Pot to make this melt-in-your-mouth Pressure Cooker Pork Belly (Kakuni) recipe! Serve the tender morsels over a Japanese steamed rice bowl with the savory sauce drizzled on top. Make this time-saving dish your family‘s new favorite for dinner!
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 a pressure cooker and s slow cooker function.
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.
If you’ve never had a 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 melts 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 the stovetop or have 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 stovetop. 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 stovetop, 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 of your mom’s old-fashioned pressure cooker? I was. My mom has this stovetop pressure cooker that makes everyone nervous when it makes a hissing, whistling, and rattling sound. I was used to hearing the sound, yet for the longest time (and still), I didn’t feel safe using it by myself in my 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 a pressure cooker, I actually use the pressure cooker function more often than the slow cooker function. Why? It cuts down cooking time significantly, and it’s a perfect cooking gadget for busy cooks!
In case you’re interested, I put the recipe below for my regular Kakuni recipe you can make using the stovetop.
I hope you enjoy my Kakuni recipe using a pressure cooker. I have never used other types/brands of pressure cookers so for instructions on how to use your device, please refer to the manual.
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Pressure Cooker Pork Belly (Kakuni)
Video
Ingredients
- 3 green onions/scallions (use only the green part)
- 1 knob ginger (1 inch, 2.5 cm per knob)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- 2 lb pork belly block (or use 3–4 lb, 1.35–2 kg and increase the seasonings by 50%; Japanese grocery stores sell pork belly without the rind; if needed, ask your butcher to remove it)
- water (for cooking the pork belly)
- 4 soft or hard-boiled eggs (you can use my soft-boiled or hard-boiled egg recipes)
- shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) (for a spicy kick)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. My pork belly was from a Korean market and pre-cut into ¼ inch (6 mm) slices. If you buy a pork belly block, you can freeze the meat for 30–60 minutes and cut it with a sharp knife (see my post on how to slice meat). You could also cut it into cubes 2 x 2 inches or 5 x 5 cm, which is a typical Japanese pork belly (kakuni) shape.
- We will only use the green part of 3 green onions/scallions. Cut the green part in half. (Reserve the white part for another dish like Homemade Miso Soup to serve with this Kakuni.) Peel 1 knob ginger and slice it thinly.
To Cook
- Press the Sauté button on your Instant Pot (I use a 6 QT Instant Pot) or heat your stovetop pressure cooker. Heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil. Add 2 lb pork belly block in a single layer, searing both sides. You may need to work in batches. If so, transfer the seared pieces to a plate and sear the next batch. When finished, put all the seared pork belly back into the pot. Tip: You can skip the searing process to cut down your cooking time, but this step will render more fat and make the dish tastier.
- Pour in just enough water to cover the meat. Then, add the green parts of the green onions and the sliced ginger. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at Sealing. Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button on the Instant Pot to stop sautéing. Press the Manual button to switch to the Pressure Cooking mode. Change the cooking time to 35 minutes and start cooking.
- For a Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Lock the lid and cook on high heat until high pressure is reached. Then, reduce the heat to low to maintain high pressure for about 30 minutes. To cook in a regular pot on the stove, see the end notes.
- When cooking is completed, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the Keep Warm mode. Either slide the steam release handle to the Venting position to quick release the steam OR let the pressure release naturally (about 15 minutes). Unlock the lid. Drain the cooking water and discard the green onion and ginger. Rinse the pork belly under warm water.
- Put the pork belly back into the Instant Pot. Add ½ cup water, ¼ cup sake, ½ cup mirin, ½ cup soy sauce, and ¼ cup sugar. Mix the seasonings. Add 4 soft or hard-boiled eggs (peeled). Press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot and press the Adjust button to increase the heat. Bring it to simmer to let the alcohol evaporate (only a minute). Then, press the Keep Warm/Cancel button to turn off the Sauté mode. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at Sealing. Press Manual and set the cooking time to 10 minutes for sliced pork belly and 20 minutes for pork belly cubes.
- When cooking is finished, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the Keep Warm mode. Slide the steam release handle to Venting to let out steam until the float valve drops down. Unlock the lid. Optionally, press the Sauté button and simmer on low heat until the liquid in the cooker reduces by half.
To Serve
- Serve the rice in a individual donburi (large) bowls and pour some sauce from the pot on top. Place the pork belly and egg on top (add some blanched green vegetables, if you‘d like). Pour additional sauce over the meat and serve immediately. If you like it a bit spicy, sprinkle with shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice). Enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for a month.
Is there a substitute for the pork belly (can’t find it locally) or does that defeat the recipe?
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. 🙂
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!
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! 🙂
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.
Hi Alan! I’m so happy to hear you like this recipe! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
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!
Hi Wendy! So happy to hear you like this recipe! Isn’t it great? Thank you for your kind feedback! xo
Recipe looks great! How and when can I add pickled mustard greens?
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. 🙂
Just made this!! Fantastic my husband said and great that there is one piece over for tomorrow, thank you for posting!!!!
Hi Penny! Yay! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
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…
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. 🙂
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 =)
Yay!!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! I’ll share more Instant Pot recipes this fall/winter! 🙂
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.
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). 🙂
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!
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…).
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!
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!
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!
Hi Sasha! AWESOME! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
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!
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. 🙂
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.
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. 🙂
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)
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?
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!
Looks easy and delicious!
Thanks so much! It is indeed. I like making this when I don’t have much time. 🙂