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With perfectly crisp skin and tender meat, Chinese-style crispy pork belly is such a treat when cooked properly. It's usually served with rice or noodles, but also makes a delicious filling for bao buns.
Recipe taken from Simply Chinese by Suzie Lee (Hardie Grant, £20) Photography ©Lizzie MaysonPat the pork belly dry on all sides with paper towel, then use a skewer, toothpick or sharp knife to pierce the skin as many times as you can, being careful to avoid piercing the flesh. Place on a grill rack in a shallow roasting tin skin side up, so the flesh is not touching the bottom of the tin, then cover the skin with a thick layer of about 200g of the salt (this may seem excessive, but it draws out the moisture in the skin to give you the crispiest pork belly ever). You are aiming for a 3-mm thick layer of salt. Put the pork in the roasting tin, uncovered, on the bottom shelf of the fridge or the meat drawer and leave overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 150°C/ Fan 130°C/ Gas 2. Take the pork out of the fridge and scrape all the salt off the skin. Pat the pork dry with paper towel. Flip the pork, skin side down, onto a chopping board and massage the Chinese five-spice and white pepper all over the flesh, trying to avoid covering the skin with this rub.
Put the pork belly on a sheet of heavy-duty foil – it should fully contain the belly with a 2.5 cm rim up the sides. Make sure the foil is tightly encasing the sides of the meat. Pierce the skin again (don’t pierce through to the flesh), then add the rest of the salt to cover the top and edges, so it acts as a seal: this will help the pork belly steam from underneath and the fat will render and soften further and become more melt in the mouth.
Roast the pork belly in the oven for 2 hours. Take the pork out of the oven and increase the temperature to 240°C/Fan 220°C/ Gas 9. Carefully remove the pork from the foil, making sure none of the salt gets into the juices that have accumulated in the foil. These juices are delicious – don’t throw them out as they can be used to flavour other dishes. I love tossing them into noodle bowls and they also give an extra layer of flavour to steamed vegetables.
Flake off all the salt from the pork using a pastry brush and paper towel. Pat the skin dry with paper towel, then place the pork on a smaller baking tray, skin side up, and return to the oven for 15–20 minutes until the skin has puffed up. Remove the pork belly from the oven and leave it to rest and cool for about 5 minutes, then use a super-sharp knife to chop it into cubes.
Pat the pork belly dry on all sides with paper towel, then use a skewer, toothpick or sharp knife to pierce the skin as many times as you can, being careful to avoid piercing the flesh. Place on a grill rack in a shallow roasting tin skin side up, so the flesh is not touching the bottom of the tin, then cover the skin with a thick layer of about 200g of the salt (this may seem excessive, but it draws out the moisture in the skin to give you the crispiest pork belly ever). You are aiming for a 3-mm thick layer of salt. Put the pork in the roasting tin, uncovered, on the bottom shelf of the fridge or the meat drawer and leave overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 150°C/ Fan 130°C/ Gas 2. Take the pork out of the fridge and scrape all the salt off the skin. Pat the pork dry with paper towel. Flip the pork, skin side down, onto a chopping board and massage the Chinese five-spice and white pepper all over the flesh, trying to avoid covering the skin with this rub.
Put the pork belly on a sheet of heavy-duty foil – it should fully contain the belly with a 2.5 cm rim up the sides. Make sure the foil is tightly encasing the sides of the meat. Pierce the skin again (don’t pierce through to the flesh), then add the rest of the salt to cover the top and edges, so it acts as a seal: this will help the pork belly steam from underneath and the fat will render and soften further and become more melt in the mouth.
Roast the pork belly in the oven for 2 hours. Take the pork out of the oven and increase the temperature to 240°C/Fan 220°C/ Gas 9. Carefully remove the pork from the foil, making sure none of the salt gets into the juices that have accumulated in the foil. These juices are delicious – don’t throw them out as they can be used to flavour other dishes. I love tossing them into noodle bowls and they also give an extra layer of flavour to steamed vegetables.
Flake off all the salt from the pork using a pastry brush and paper towel. Pat the skin dry with paper towel, then place the pork on a smaller baking tray, skin side up, and return to the oven for 15–20 minutes until the skin has puffed up. Remove the pork belly from the oven and leave it to rest and cool for about 5 minutes, then use a super-sharp knife to chop it into cubes.
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15 minutes
Serves 5
