Kakuni (角煮)
Kakuni is one kind of prepared foods using ribs of pork. To cook for Kakuni, cut ribs into bite-size pieces, add seasoning and condiments, and stew them.
Dong Po Rou (Dongpo Pork) of Zhejiang cuisine of Hangzhou City in People's Republic of China became Rafuthy when introduced into Okinawa Prefecture and Tobani of Shippoku cuisine when spread to Nagasaki Prefecture. A further change was made for Rafuthy or Tobani to become Kakuni.
Kakuni
Kakuni is one of the local dishes in Kyushu and a typical meat dish of Satsuma cuisine, and is generally called 'Tonkotsu' in Kagoshima Prefecture. It often tastes salty-sweet by adding flavoring ingredients such as leek and ginger and seasoning such as sweet cooking rice wine, soy source, and Japanese sake. Spices and condiments used for Kakuni vary from region to region. Occasionally cola (drink) is added in these days. Furthermore, they have 'Kakuni-man' in Hakata, Kyushu region, which ensphered Kakuni with a dough like that of a steamed bun to soak up meat juice.
Recently a Japanese version of Dong Po Rou is made in Japan; therefore the difference between Dong Po Rou and Kakuni is obscure.
Differences between Dong Po Rou and Kakuni
In Japan differences between Dong Po Rou and Kakuni are not clear as above, but a tentative indication is below.
When cooking Dong Po Rou, star anise is usually added for seasoning to give it a distinct flavor. For Kakuni, hakkaku (star anise) is sometimes added, but sometimes not.
Though meat in Dong Po Rou is often fried and steamed after stewing, that in Kakuni is often finished omitting frying or steaming, or both.
Only ribs (with unhusked skin) are cooked in Dong Po Rou, while other ingredients such as radish are added and cooked at the same time in Kakuni.
Rafuthy
Rafuthy is a local cuisine of Okinawa Prefecture. Originally it was a palace cuisine in the Ryukyo Kingdom. Rafuthy is the standard of New Year's dish and also a must in the tiered food boxes for Buddhist services in Okinawa Prefecture. It is occasionally added to Okinawa soba noodle as a filling in recent years.
Prepare unhusked ribs.
In a general recipe, husk hair and broil to scrape off the remaining hair. Boil the lump of meat as it is and slice into pieces, about one centimeter thick and five centimeters wide. Soak them in broth of Awamori, the distilled spirit of Okinawa, soy sauce, soup stock of dried bonito, and sugar and boil them on low heat for a few hours.
Then let them cool, remove lard solidified on the surface of broth, and boil them again. It is occasionally served with ginger.
Dong Po Rou
The name of Dong Po Rou is originated in Su Dongpo (Su Shi), the name of a poet in the Northern Sung of China.
Tobani
Tobani is a typical Shippoku cuisine in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Kakuni other than pork
The Kakuni recipe has been widely known and used in other foodstuff as well.
Tuna Kakuni
Beef Kakuni