Chinese Roasted Pork Belly Recipe, Version 3

Version 3.0

Way back in 2017, when my housemates and I bought 5 kilos of pork belly and started roasting pork bellies, this has been been a recipe that I revisit every so often. It didn't always turn out successful, but after several years of revising the original recipe that was given to me, I think I'm near done with tweaking the recipe!

One of the good changes I'd experienced? A change in mindset. The 2017 snob who declared that it was essential to have an oven capable of reaching rip-roaring, flames-from-the-depths-of-hell has been proven wrong. My current oven is a cheap standalone one which, at 2 years of age, isn't capable of reaching above 200C anymore:(. Yes, I checked with an oven thermometer. But no matter. With this revised way of making pork belly, the skin has been crispier than it has ever been. 

Pic by Rainer, circa 2017

Of course, those of us with a good oven should find it easier. We once accidentally ended up with perfect crunchy, blistered skin on our pork shoulders in Tasmania even without drying out the skin beforehand, just by virtue of the great oven at the Airbnb. So crunchy, I half-expected the neighbours to peer into our windows to see what we were up to. (Well also, our enthusiastic roasting triggered the fire alarm a couple of times - we should have opened the windows!)  

For those interested in the technical points on how it works: 

A) Leaving the pork uncovered in the fridge overnight dries out the pork skin completely. When roasted in the oven, the skin becomes unbelievably crispy. 

B) Submerging the meat portion of the pork in broth during roasting keeps the meat soft and tender, preventing it from getting dried out during roasting even as the skin becomes blistered and crunchy. 

And that's it! That's the main takeaway from this recipe. I admit I don't even measure the ingredients anymore, and neither should you. I just scatter the spices over the pork meat willy-nilly. Unlike baking, most savory dishes have a wide leeway and most recipes are a guide rather than a didactic set of instructions. If you don't feel comfortable eyeballing, you can use five spice powder: white pepper at 1:3 ratio. But honestly, you don't need to know that. 

Now, go forth and treat yourself to some pork belly. 

Just be sure to keep your windows open. 

Chinese Roasted Pork Belly Recipe, Version 4

Many recipes online recommend pricking the pork belly skin, but I prefer to score it with a sharp knife and omit prickling. I find that it interferes with the crisping up of the skin, and I enjoy the visual of diamond-shaped pork skin with large golden blisters. To each their own. 

INGREDIENTS
1 kg Pork belly
Five Spice Powder / White Pepper / Salt (ratio of 1 tbsp: 1 tsp:1 tsp)

Salt (Additional salt for the skin)

STEPS
1. Rub the sides and bottom generously with five spice powder, and sparingly with white pepper. Be careful not to get any on the skin.

2. Use a paper towel to pat the skin dry, and rub away any five-spice powder. 

3. Rub in 3-4 teaspoons of salt over the pork belly skin. 

4. Rest the pork uncovered and skin-side up in the fridge overnight. 

When ready to cook the pork belly, 
5. Preheat oven to 180C. Place the pork belly skin-side-up in a roasting tray set on the middle rack of your oven. Carefully pour water into the roasting tray, taking care not to splash any liquid onto the skin, until the liquid level reaches the fat layer just below to the pork skin. Roast for 1 - 1.5 hours, until a fork goes in through the meat easily from the side and diagonally down (taking care not to attempt to pierce through the skin). 

6. When the meat is tender, turn the oven to 'low broil'. Keep the pork belly on the middle rack, letting the skin blister and turn crunchy. This may take anywhere from 5-15 minutes. Tapping on the skin with a metal utensil should create a deep, solid sound. (For those with a stovetop oven, like me, you can achieve the same effect by turning off the bottom heating coil while leaving the top heating coil on. Turn the temperature down to 160C, and continue roasting for 4-5 mins, until the skin is crunchy.) 

7. Slice and serve. 

Variations

This is less of a recipe, and more of a guide to make crispy pork belly. You can use any spice that you fancy; and even premixed spices are good. We particularly like using a incidentally-bought spice mix from Kotanyi picked up by my parents when they were travelling in Poland: the przyprawa do zeberek z miodem. 

Last edit on 28/02/24: edited to include instructions for traditional oven compared to stovetop ovens.