How to Use Pork Belly as Medicine (Mille-Feuille Nabe Recipe)

9 ingredients•Prep: 20 mins•Cook: 20 mins

Alice Sun•

January 9, 2024

In traditional Chinese medicine, pork belly is an extremely healing protein source that is particularly helpful for maintaining spleen and stomach health. But when cooked in a soup with a cooling ingredient like cabbage, it can help decrease Yang energy or the fiery qi that is responsible for inflammation and bloating.

If you’re not familiar, Chinese medicine is all about maintaining balance in your Yin and Yang energies. Yin energy is cooling, calming energy while Yang energy is the heat that powers blood flow but too much can also be negative, leading to insomnia, acne, and overall inflammation. A huge aspect of Chinese medicine is leveraging food to maintain these balances, but also emphasizes the importance of mental health too.

After all, we can nourish our bodies as much as we can, but with a frazzled mind we can still do harm to our bodies. Now, on to the recipe for this mille-feuille nabe!

Instructions

Make a bonito stock first by bringing water (4 cups) to a boil, then adding in the bonito flakes (1)
Let the stock simmer for 30 seconds, then turn the heat off and let it steep until you need to use
Cut the cabbage (1 medium) into quarters, lengthwise (top —> down), then layer the pork belly (1 lb) between the leaves
Cut the cabbage section further into same size quarters, then stack into your pot in a circular shape (refer to video on Instagram for how to do this)
Leave some space in the middle and drop in the ginger slices (2 slices)
Strain the bonito stock into the pot, add the mirin (1 Tbsp), soy sauce (2 Tbsp), and salt (1 pinch), and bring to a boil
Let the pork and cabbage cook until cabbage is soft, about 10-15 minutes
Right before it’s done, add in your rice noodles (1 handful), which should cook in about 1-2 mins
Enjoy with a little more soy sauce and togarashi (Japanese chili powder) if you like spice