CHINESE CRISPY PORK BELLY RECIPE
Great
pork belly recipe! This is Chinese pork belly, just like you get from the
Chinese BBQ meat shops! The best crackling in the world, with the signature
bubbles, super crispy and golden. If pricking the skin is too daunting for you,
use the Foolproof Easy Method (Note 7)
Prep
Time : 20 mins
Cook
Time : 1 hour 30 mins
Total
Time : 1 hour 50 mins
Servings : 8
INGREDIENTS
·
1
pork belly, skin on (800 - 1.2kg / 1.6 - 2.4 lb) (Note 1)
·
1
1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) (Note 2)
·
1
tsp Chinese five spice powder (Note 3)
·
1
tsp white pepper (sub black pepper)
·
1/2
tsp salt
·
1
tbsp white vinegar (helps conduct heat evenly)
·
200
g / 7 oz rock salt (Note 4)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare Pork Belly
1.
Use
an ice pick, sharp metal skewer or another tool to prick tons and tons of holes
in the skin. Avoid piercing int o the fat as best you can, and really ensure
you do not pierce the flesh (Note 5)
2. Turn
the pork belly upside down. Rub the flesh (not skin) with Chinese cooking wine,
dribbling it on gradually. Sprinkle over five spice powder, salt and pepper.
Rub all over flesh, including sides (not on skin).
3.
Turn
skin side up and place in a container. Dab skin dry with paper towels.
Refrigerate uncovered for 12 hours (max 24 hrs, min 3 hrs).
Cook
1.
Preheat
oven to 180C/350F (all oven types).
2.
Remove
pork from fridge. Place onto a large sheet of foil. Fold up sides of foil
around the pork to enclose it snugly (see photos in post or video) with a 1.5cm
/ 2/5" rim above the pork skin (to hold salt in).
3.
Transfer
pork to baking tray. Dab skin with paper towels.
4.
Brush
skin with vinegar.
5. Spread
rock salt on the skin (the foil edges will stop it from falling down the
sides).
6.
Roast
for 60 minutes.
7.
Remove
pork from oven and transfer onto work surface.
8. Switch
to grill/broiler on medium high. Move shelf so it is at least 25cm/10"
from the heat source.
9.
Fold
down foil and scrape all the salt off the top and sides. Return pork only (i.e.
discard foil) to baking tray.
10.Place
under grill/broiler for 20 - 25 minutes, rotating tray once, until skin is
golden, crispy and puffed. (Note 6)
To Serve
1.
Remove
pork onto cutting board. Slice into 1 - 1.5cm / 2/5 - 3/5" thick slices,
then into smaller slices like pictured in post.
2.
Serve
with ordinary yellow mustard - or Hot English Mustard if you like spicy like
me! Not Dijon, just ordinary American or other yellow mustard (yes really!).
Sometimes it is served with white sugar on the side too. Add some fresh raw
vegetables (I use cucumber and radish).
NOTES
1.
Pork
belly - try to get one with even thickness, it will make the best evenly cooked
crackling. Look for pork belly with lovely ribbons of fat streaking through it.
2.
Chinese
cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) - sub for dry sherry (near perfect) or Mirin (very
good sub). If you can't consume alcohol, just skip it and add an extra 1/4 tsp
salt. Read here for more info.
3.
Chinese
Five Spice Powder - a spice mix used in Chinese cooking with 5 spices that's
widely available at everyday supermarkets.
4. Rock
Salt is called for because it's easy to remove and also the salt doesn't slip
down into the holes which would make the pork too salty.
5.
Skin
piercing - If you pierce the fat too
much (a bit is ok) or flesh, then after you remove the salt crust and place it
under the grill/broiler, juices will bubble up onto the skin and prevent the
skin from getting crispy. It's not the end of the world if you have a handful
of pricks that went too deep, you will just get tiny splotches or little strips
of crackling that's not 100% crispy.
6.
Broiling
- Ensure the pork isn't too close to the heat source. That's the key to an even
golden crackling, rather than burnt splotches here and there. The further away
it is, the better!
7.
Foolproof
Easy Method - Use this if pricking is all too hard. Makes super crispy
crackling and the same juicy flesh, but without the bubbly crackling. It's
really really good and super easy. Read in post for more information.
·
Follow
recipe up to and including brushing with vinegar but do not prick skin.
·
Cover
skin with rock salt per recipe, OR use 1 cup kosher/cooking/table salt (enough
to cover skin about 3 - 5 mm / 1/8 - 1/5" thick). If you use fine grain
salt, make sure the foil is VERY snug around the edges - if salt falls down the
sides, it will make the flesh salty.
·
Roast
per recipe and scrape off salt.
·
Instead
of flicking to grill/broiler, turn the oven up to 240C/465F. For this method,
oven works better to make skin crispy.
·
Place
pork on a rack and return to baking tray, roast for a further 30 minutes or
until crackling is golden and crispy.
8.
Servings
- Pork belly is very rich so a 1 kg / 2 lb raw piece (shrinks to about
700g/1.4lb) serves 6 - 8 people as part of a multi course meal or as a starter.
I don't serve pork belly as a main because I find it too rich. In the photo
pictured in the post with the slices, that is the sort of starter I would do.
It's plenty!
9.
STORING
/ MAKE AHEAD: Cook per recipe, including crispy skin. Once cool enough to
handle, separate crispy skin from meat. Cool, THEN cover and refrigerate
separately - crackling stays crispy! Reheat meat in microwave and reheat crispy
skin just until warmed in oven at 180C/350F (~ 5 minutes). Because crackling
stays crispy even after refrigeration, reheating for the skin is JUST to
reheat, not to crisp. Don't take the skin too far in the oven, it starts to
lose crispiness, believe it or not!
10.Recipe
created / adapted from numerous sources over the years, including but not
limited to: Woks of Life, Chinese Crispy Roasted Pork by Garden Time (this is
my main reference point for the traditional method), and a Gordon Ramsay
cooking show (can't remember which one!).
Recipe
from recipetineats.com
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