We make chashu in just eight minutes, thanks to Kaldi’s microwaveable roast pork【Taste Test】

“Quick” and “easy” are not words usually associated with roast pork… until now!

Gourmet expert Mr. Sato has always been someone who believes that when it comes to cooking, the more time and effort spent making the meal, the more delicious it is sure to be.

That was, of course, until he came across a new product from Kaldi called Microwave Roast Pork (226 yen, US$1.76).

As the name suggests, the Microwave Roast Pork can be made in a microwave and only take eight minutes (plus eight minutes of steaming). What’s more, since it’s cooked in the bag as-is, there’s virtually no clean up needed afterwards!

This is great news for Mr. Sato, who still has flashbacks to the last time he attempted to make roast pork — the whole process, including the boiling and roasting, took him close to four hours total. If only he’d known about Kaldi’s revolutionary eight minute roast pork sooner, he could have spent that time in the kitchen whipping up all kinds of culinary creations instead.

But Mr. Sato is not a man to dwell on mistakes of the past — especially as he hadn’t even tested this microwaveable roast pork yet. Could it be too good to be true? There was only one way to find out.

The cooking instructions seemed fairly simple: first, take the pork out from the microwaveable bag and use a fork to poke holes all over it. Then pop it back in the bag, knead it lightly, and microwave it (eight minutes for a 600 watt microwave, eight and a half minutes for a 500 watt microwave). Once it’s cooked, leave it to steam in the bag for another eight minutes and you’re done. No frying pan, no oven, no roasting tin. Seems like a dream come true!

Once Mr. Sato had given the pork a good stabbing with his fork, he put it back in the bag, which had some marinade inside. The marinade had an aroma of soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, and Mr. Sato made sure to cover the pork in the marinade as he kneaded it.

Kaldi’s roast pork doesn’t come with any twine, but Mr. Sato decided to add some that he found at the supermarket.

And now it was the moment of truth! As Mr. Sato closed the microwave door and pushed the timer for eight minutes, he started to feel nervous. Was it really going to be as simple as this?

As he watched the roast pork rotate inside the microwave, he started getting flashbacks to his previous roast pork ordeal, beads of sweat dripping down his face as he remembered how long it took. And the cleaning up after… there was so much cleaning up…. 

The “ding!” of the microwave brought Mr. Sato back to the present day, and he waited an extra eight minutes for the pork to steam. And then, it was time.

He tentatively opened the bag, and looking back at him from the bottom…

▼ …was a lovely piece of roast pork!

As he plated it up, Mr. Sato couldn’t believe it. This was roast pork! And all he’d done was put it in a microwave for less than ten minutes.

No roasting, frying or broiling needed here — Mr. Sato had a slab of roast pork on his plate, ready to go. He grabbed a knife and started cutting up slices, ready for a taste test.

While the flavour didn’t appear to penetrate the whole slab of pork, it looked well cooked. Considering this was a quick job using a microwave though, he couldn’t complain too much. Mr. Sato poured a bit of marinade over the slices and got ready for his first bite.

Unfortunately, the pork was a little tough and dry. Compared to pork he’d made that had been roasted for four hours, Mr. Sato had to admit this pork wasn’t as tasty, but no-one would assume they were going to make Cordon Bleu levels of roasted pork after a mere eight minutes in a microwave. It was good, but in the end slaving over a hot oven probably would have produced tastier results.

Having said that, Kaldi’s microwave roast pork has one thing going for it that conventional roast pork can’t beat — time spent cleaning up after cooking is virtually non-existent. All Mr. Sato needed to do was dispose of the bag and that was it!

So while the Microwave Roast Pork from Kaldi might not be the absolute best way to make roast pork, it is certainly the quickest and most convenient. And while we might be reluctant to recommend using it for any extravagant meals, it’s tasty enough to satisfy any roast pork craving you might have.

Seeing as roast pork is often an essential topping in ramen (usually referred to as chashu), it might be the perfect solution for noodle lovers to add to their bowls.

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