There’s nothing quite like homemade crispy pork belly, and this five spice version is a favourite of mine. The skin’s shatteringly crisp, the meat’s juicy, and it’s packed with big, bold flavour from Chinese five spice and a simple marinade.
Category
Dinner
Servings
4
Prep time
10
Cook time
1 hour 35 minutes
There’s nothing quite like homemade crispy pork belly, and this five spice version is a favourite of mine. The skin’s shatteringly crisp, the meat’s juicy, and it’s packed with big, bold flavour from Chinese five spice and a simple marinade.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg (3 lb) pork belly, skin on
- 3 tsp Shaoxing wine
- ½ tsp Chinese 5 spice
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- olive oil
- sea salt, extra
- steamed rice and Asian greens, black vinegar and soy dipping sauce, to serve
Directions
Parboil the pork
Place enough water in a wide saucepan to submerge pork and place over medium-high heat.
- Bring to a boil, then add the pork, skin side down, and cook for 1 minute, until the skin changes colour.
- Carefully turn pork over and cook for a further 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl of iced water, and use a sharp knife to scrape off any debris on the surface.
- Pat pork dry with a paper towel, then place skin side up on a wire rack over a tray.
Score and marinate the pork
Pierce the skin with a toothpick or meat tenderiser until you have made holes all over the skin. Sprinkle over some of the sea salt and rub into the skin.
- Turn pork over and score the flesh with deep cuts crossways and vertically to make squares. Make sure not to cut through the skin.
- Sprinkle the shaoxing all over the flesh side of the pork.
- Combine 5 spice, garlic powder, salt, sugar and pepper in a small bowl, then rub this into the meat and down into the slits.
- Turn it over so the skin is facing up and then transfer to the fridge overnight to dry out.
Cook and serve
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan forced (375°F).
- Remove the pork from the fridge and rub the skin with a drizzle of oil and an even layer of extra sea salt.
- Add 250ml of water to the bottom of the tray and place in the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 170°C (340°F). Cook for 1 hour.
- Increase oven temperature to 200°C (395°F), bake a further 30 mins until skin is crispy. Rest for at least 30 mins.
Slice the pork up using the scored marks and serve with steamed rice, steamed Asian greens and a dipping sauce of soy and black vinegar.
Recipe notes
Cook support
Parboiling the pork will soften the skin so you can pierce it with a tenderiser, so don't miss this step.
Sourcing
Ask your butcher for a centre piece of belly with an even thickness, which will help with even cooking throughout.
Why add water to the tray?
Firstly, it stops the pork drippings from sitting on the bottom of the tray and burning, but it also helps with the moisture content and adding steam to the cooking process.
Can I store it?
This one is best eaten fresh when the skin is nice and crispy. You can refrigerate it for a day or so but it will loose it's crunch if reheated. Use a hot oven or air frying to reheat to bring back a bit of the crunch.
Serving idea
You could try a slaw with Asian dressing for this or rice noodles instead of rice. Or, if you have a baguette handy, make your own version of a banh mi.
