(serves 4-6)
There is a great fascination with pork belly that i'm only slowly coming around to. This is one of the standard meats you can get from the Chinese BBQ Kitchens, alongside char siu and roast duck... of which i usually get instead! Nonetheless, the crispy skin, the soft juicy meat and the five spice infusion is definitely winning me over!
My brother was the first to tackle this challenge and a few years later, i'm trying it out for myself. I still remember the experimentations with drying it outside in the sun, leaving it on the kitchen bench for days, which were fun but not necessary in the end (and not possible now with a dog in the backyard!).
Perfecting the skin remains a challenge, though i think this is more about practice and getting to know your oven better more than anything else! I'm pretty sure this is the recipe though (as it's pretty simple actually!), and the meat tastes pretty scrumptious and soft! I'll also be posting on perfecting the crackling with just the skin (脆皮) soon!
My brother was the first to tackle this challenge and a few years later, i'm trying it out for myself. I still remember the experimentations with drying it outside in the sun, leaving it on the kitchen bench for days, which were fun but not necessary in the end (and not possible now with a dog in the backyard!).
Perfecting the skin remains a challenge, though i think this is more about practice and getting to know your oven better more than anything else! I'm pretty sure this is the recipe though (as it's pretty simple actually!), and the meat tastes pretty scrumptious and soft! I'll also be posting on perfecting the crackling with just the skin (脆皮) soon!
Prep time: 15 min (a day before)
Cooking time: 1.5 - 2hrs
Ingredients:
1kg pork belly
1-2 T White vinegar
1 tsp five spice powder
2 tsp salt
Method:
1. Prepare the pork belly by quickly soaking it in a pan of hot water skin-side down for 1-2 minutes. Pat dry then score the skin in a criss-cross pattern.
2. Brush the skin with white vinegar, then pat dry again.
3. Rub in the salt and five spice powder all over the meat and let it rest and dry out (uncovered) overnight in the fridge.
4. Preheat the oven to 220˚C.
5. Place pork belly skin-side up on a flat roasting rack, or a cooling rack in a deeper tray and cook .
NB. The idea is to allow the oil to drain into the tray so the pork belly doesn't sit in the oil whilst cooking. The high temperature initially is what causes the crackling effect so make sure the oven is definitely preheated first!
6. Once the skin is crackled enough (and not burning), turn the temperature down to 150˚C and continue to cook for 1 1/2 - 2hrs until the meat temperature is at 170˚C.
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| Skin's not quite perfect this time... |
7. Let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing as desired.
NB. It's helpful to turn it skin-side down first, then use one of those massive Chinese butcher knives and slice through the meat and then use a bit of a see-saw action at the end... or just a big whack like they do at the store!
NB. It's helpful to turn it skin-side down first, then use one of those massive Chinese butcher knives and slice through the meat and then use a bit of a see-saw action at the end... or just a big whack like they do at the store!
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