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.
Hi Nami,
Have just made this recioe this morning, and I really enjoy it, thanks so much for creating the recipe 😀
Hi Christine! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Delicious. I added carrots and turnips and cut back on sugar. Fantastic meal.
Hi V! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi Jufr! Welcome to the IP club. 😀 So happy to hear you tried this recipe and enjoyed it (and are making it again!). Thank you very much for your kind comment. 🙂
I’ve enjoyed cooking your other recipes and this one looks delicious, too. You used dashi in the traditional stove top version. Is there a reason dashi is not needed here? I recently bought an instant pot, but I’m not sure how to modify traditinal recipes for the IP, any tips would be greatlt appreciated 🙂
Hi Guangye! I keep it simple in this recipe as making dashi can be one extra step for many (I don’t mind). You can replace ½ cup water with ½ cup dashi for more flavor. I don’t always make the same dish and always find a way to arrange a dish. So feel free to adjust, but keep the liquid amount same. Thank you so much for trying my recipes! And happy cooking with your new IP! 🙂
This is definitely better with the dashi instead of plain water! Even using powdered dashi has made a huge difference [drool emoji]
Hi Patrick! Thank you for your kind feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Do you use skin off or skin on pork belly for this recipe?
Hi Trudy! Pork belly block sold at Japanese market is usually already skin off. 🙂
Wow, simply amazing! This tasted just like the Kakuni I had in Japan! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!!
Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Leslie! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Would it be possible to cook the pork belly whole the entire time and slice only when serving? Do I need to increase cooking time?
Hi Jade! You can, but for the meat to soak up the flavor, I recommend to boil a big block first and cut into smaller pieces before adding seasoning. Hope that helps!
Hi,Nami-san, I’m a Japanese wife married to a Russian-American guy, living in Japan.
The pressure cooker which I had been using since we got married had broken several month ago, then my husband bought Instant Pot by Amazon suddenly. I was upset, coz almost just few instruction or recipes in Japanese on the internet , even in the Japanese biggest cooking site “ cookpad “ doesn’t have anything. But finally, I could find your website, that is ,saving my cooking life everyday!
I have been trying to cook several recipes, all are quite awesome! Including Kakuni, Nikujaga, Bolognese sauce, and so on. I’m looking forward to finding more recipes especially for instant pot. I really really appreciate you, Nami-san!
Hi Mina-san! Aww thank you so much for your kind words, and I’m glad you found my site! I live in the US (San Francisco) so I cook Japanese food with ingredients I can find from a local Japanese grocery store (which we can buy almost everything, but not too many choices to pick from). Hope you find my site and recipes useful. 🙂 And have fun cooking in IP! I’ll be adding more Japanese IP recipes to the site this fall/winter!
Just wanted to let you know that I made this last night for my family. It was wonderful. It’s all gone… Next time I’m going to have to double the recipe!
(sorry, I forgot to take a picture)
Hi Tina! I’m so happy to hear you tried this recipe and your family enjoyed it! Yay!!! Don’t worry about the picture, I’m so glad you had a great meal with your family! And thanks for writing your feedback here. xo
Oh, my mouth is watering just looking at the photos! One question: do you peel your eggs before putting them in the instant pot or do they go in with their shells on?
Many thanks!
Hi Art! Thank you for your kind words. 🙂 Yes, peel the eggs first, and then add to the IP. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Nami!
The kakuni is bubbling away as I type and I had a burning question: do I REALLY have to throw away all that porky broth? Is there another acceptable use for it? It seems a waste…I know you want a clean flavor for the kakuni but perhaps the broth in another use would be ok? Like a ramen broth perhaps or some other stew…I’d love to hear your thoughts, thank you!
Hi Soleilnyc! I apologize for my late response (due to my travel). Typically we do not use the first boiling liquid in Japanese cooking. But I learned that Okinawan cuisine (similar to Chinese cooking), they keep the first boiling water and make soup stock for Okinawa Soba!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/okinawa-soba/
It’s too weak for ramen. I would use it for this Okinawa Soba recipe. 🙂
I am a graduate student living in California, from Taiwan. I love your website so much! I ate so much Japanese food growing up in Taiwan so Japanese food is very important to me. I love your miso soup and pressure cooker kakuni recipes. The instant pot is saving me so much time on cooking, it is amazing. I cook Japanese curry a lot, but I look forward to trying it out in the Instant Pot in a few days. Especially because I have my PhD exams in two months, eating well and cooking quickly is super important for me! Thank you so much!
Hi Amanda! I’m really happy to hear you enjoy my recipes, and thank you for your very sweet and encouraging words. My husband (who also grew up in Taiwan) has great memory of grandma’s food that had a lot of Japanese influence. 🙂
I will try my best to add more instant pot recipes but here are what I have currently on my blog:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/pressure-cooker/
I love pulled pork recipe that I recently posted. You can make a rice bowl, tacos, sandwich… great way to freeze and pop into the oven to reheat to enjoy. Good luck with your exam!
I just made this. It’s yummy and hubby approves. Thank you, Nami! Love your recipes.
Hi Mydao! I’m so happy to hear you two enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback. xoxo
Do I slice the pork belly before cooking? And if so, how thick should I slice them? Thank you and keep on doing the great work!
Hi Monette! I used the pre-sliced pork belly from Korean grocery store – their slices are much thicker than Japanese pork belly slices (Japanese version is bacon thickness, while Korean is about triple thickness).
If you’re going to get a block, you can cook with block, and cut later OR you can slice first. Freeze 2-3 hours or so you can slice thinly. I’d go with the same thickness so you can follow the exact recipe. 8 mm thickness would be good I think.
Wish we were still in San Diego or Japan! We only had blocks here and I sliced them thinly. The blocks were more fatty than meaty, so they looked like they melted. It was delicious, nonetheless. Wish it looked presentable like the ones you had and the ones we had in Japan! Thanks again!
Hi Monette! It’s great that you could find pork belly blocks – I know that some readers said it is hard to find pork belly, except for bacon… You can freeze for a few hours and then slice too. It will be easier to slice that way. 🙂 Thank you so much for trying this recipe!
Question … for the boiled eggs, should it be somewhat raw inside? Did you use instant pot to make those eggs and at which setting? Thanks!
Hi Mel! You can use either soft boiled or hard boiled eggs. It’s really up to one’s preference and there is no specific type that is required for Kakuni. 🙂 In Notes section, I link my recipes for hard boiled and soft boiled eggs (using regular stovetop method).