How to make roast pork, crispy roast pork belly Chinese Style?
Good question. Roast pork belly, or sio bak (Hokkien)or siu yok (Cantonese) is easy to make. But the process takes over a day or 2 depending on how long you want to treat the rind.
In my pervious recipe, use salt to draw the moisture from the skin and I roast it in the oven with a tray of water beneath the meat. This time, there is not salt crust, no poking (the skin, please, don’t let your imagination take over the better of you), and there is no smoky oven!!
I also have 2 top tips to make the pork belly rind crunchy, crispy and light; and how to make the top cooks and bubbles evenly. I use soda bicarbonate for the rind. The pork skin is incredibly crispy and light with bubbles all over. The underside meat is moist. Although I usually cook a fairly big piece, today’s piece is gigantic. Only then, I can be sure of having spare for the next day or freeze it for a quick meal in the next few weeks.
Note: If you are trying it for the first time. please follow the recipe by using the correct weight, i.e., 1.5 to 1.8kg
Enjoy your roast!
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Penang Lassie
How To Make Roast Pork (Crispy Pork Belly Chinese Style)
Equipment
- 1 Roasting tin with roasting rack for the pork
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Ruler or small baking sheet
- 1 brush
- Alumminium foil
- small bowls
- 1 Pestle and mortar
Ingredients
- 1.5-1.8 kg Belly pork
Rind seasoning
- 1/2 tbsp Salt for salting the skin
- 1/2 tbsp Bicarbonate of soda
- 3 tbsp White vinegar
Rub for the meat
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1-2 tsp Szechuan pepper corns
- 1 tsp Star anise powder
Root vegetables (optional)
- some potatoes, carrots or sweet potatos
Instructions
- Make slits on the meat side of the pork for easy seasoning
- Mix the salt, bicarbonate of soda together. Set aside.
- Mix the rub ingredients together.
- Season the underside of the pork with the rub.
- Turn over the pork so the skin side is up.
- Remove any traces of the spice.
- Score the skin 2cm apart to enable easy cutting after roasting.
- Wrap the underside of the pork (lean part) with foil.
- Use root vegetables to make the pork surface even if required
- Rub the skin side with salt and Bicarbonate mixture making sure you rub it into the scored skin.
- Put in the fridge to dry, uncovered, over night or 48 hours if possible.
- Dap off any moisture from the skin and reapply the salt mixture another 2 to 3 times, if required
To Roast
- Take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before roasting.
- When you want to roast it, heat up the oven the highest mark. (220C)
- Dap off any moisture on the skin with paper towel.
- Remove all the salt mixture
- Apply white vinegar over the skin.
- Let it work for 5 minutes. Dap it off.
- Put the whole thing in the oven for about 20 minutes and turn down the oven to 180C for about 1hr 15mins. (Do 1 hr first, as oven temperature varies )
- Check the skin. If it is not crispy enough, turn the oven up to Mark or 220C for another 20 minutes. ( keep a watch, you may not neeed 20 minutes)
- If you want the skin to be really crispy, place the belly skin side up under a medium grill and grill for about 5 minutes or more to get it to the crispiness that you want. Keep a good watch over it so as not to burn the crackling.
- Remove from grill and let it stand for about 20 minutes.
- Cut it into serving size.
- Serve with hoisin sauce, plum sauce and chilli sauce.
- Garnish with coriander and spring onions, and cucumber
- Add rice and vegetables, too!
- Enjoy!!!
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