Pork Belly

For this though, we’ll focus mainly on pork belly in Asian cuisines, since we are after all an Asian grocery store.

It’s popular throughout the region, from Korea and Japan in the north down to the Philippines and Thailand in the south. Some of the most famous pork belly dishes include char siu in Cantonese cooking (although that can be made with other pork cuts too), chashu in Japan, Korean barbecued pork belly, or sliced and fried or caramelized pork belly in Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. 

It’s also common in Korean jjigaes or in thin strips in Japan on dishes such as okonomiyaki; there’s popular Chinese pork belly dishes that are sliced and pan-fried, as well as Filipino ones

where the pork belly is chopped and then deep fried into crunchy bits. Essentially: It’s impossible to comprehensively sum up pork belly in one blurb.

While it’s impossible to give pork belly the full dissertation it deserves on one page, we can easily say why it’s so popular. The layering of meat and fat creates a depth of flavor and richness that is unrivaled by other cuts; when it’s sliced or chopped and then pan-fried, you get an additional crispness on the edges. That immensely satisfying texture and taste combination is just delicious.

In Uwajimaya’s meat department, you can find multiple different preparations of pork belly as well as get advice from our expert butchers.