Cool Plates showcases dishes from across the country to help inspire chefs’ creativity.
Chef and co-owner Darren Norris cures 8-inch squares of pork belly in a mixture of sugar, salt, shichimi and yuzu skin for 24 hours.
He rinses that lightly and puts the belly in a sous-vide bag with sake, mirin, dashi and more shichimi and yuzu skin. He cooks it for six hours at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. He leaves it in the bag and lets it rest overnight in the walk-in. Then he shaves it in a slicer.
At service he keeps the meat warm in a water bath and makes either maki — pictured here rolled with kaiware sprouts and cucumber — or cone-shaped hand rolls topped with fresh wasabi. The vegetables used in the roll vary based on seasonality.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
