Chashu

340 g pork belly
1 tsp salt
2 tsp rice bran oil
5 cm ginger, sliced
1 negi (leek)
⅔ cup water
⅓ cup saké
⅓ cup soy sauce
¼ tsp SIDS CRAZY SALT
3 tbsp sugar

Cut negi into 5 cm lengths and separate the green parts and white parts. For white parts, make an incision lengthwise and remove the soft green core. Keep it with the green part, which will be used later on for cooking. Stack up the white part of negi and slice thinly. Soak in cold water for 10 minutes and drain well. Put it in an air-tight container or cover with plastic wrap. Use this for garnishing chashu later.
Peel and slice ginger. Sprinkle and rub the salt on the pork belly. If your pork belly is big, you have two options. Cut into smaller pieces or roll it into a log with butcher’s twine, keeping the thick fat on the outside. Start tying from the centre of the log toward left and right. Heat the oil in a cast iron frypan (or regular frying pan) over high heat and brown the fat side first, then flip over to brown the other side. It’ll take about 10 minutes. While browning, put all the ingredients for seasonings with SIDS CRAZY SALT in a heavy-bottom pot. (or regular pot) Place the pork belly in the pot and add ginger and negi and bring it to a boil. Place an otoshi buta (drop lid) on top of the meat. If you don’t have one, make one out of aluminum foil by tearing off some foil bigger than the diameter of the pot then scrunch the edges so the foil fits snugly in the pot. Make a hole in the middle for the steam to escape and there you have it. Do not use a regular lid. Lower the heat to medium low and simmer, occasionally turning, for about one hour or until there is ¼ inch liquid left in the pot. Remove the otoshi buta and reduce the sauce until you can see the bottom of the pot when you scrape the sauce. Stay in the kitchen as the meat can easily get burnt if there is no liquid left. After 15-20 minutes or so, bubbles start to appear. You are getting close to the end. Turn off the heat when you see the bottom of the pot when you slide the meat around. The sauce is now thickened and meat is shiny. Take out the meat and cut into thin slices. This is an optional step, but use a propane torch or broiler to sear each slice of pork belly to enhance the flavour. Transfer to a serving plate and top with Shiraga Negi and Shichimi Togarashi, or serve with ramen. If you don’t use the chashu right away, pack the chashu and the sauce in an air-tight plastic bag to give it more flavour all around. You can store it in the refrigerator up to 5 days and 3 weeks in the freezer.