The ultimate guide to perfectly done Cantonese crispy pork belly with oven at home. Crispy pork belly is one of my favorite Cantonese dishes for the years in Guangdong province. Each time when I have a chance to enjoy Guangdong cuisine, this crispy pork belly is one of my choices.
After I learn how to make crispy pork belly from a Cantonese friends at home several years ago. I am always trying to find ways and information for a better result and trying to understand how every step works. And this is my ultimate guide.
Cook’s Note
This is the most simplified version for home cooking. I will introduce some extra steps if you want to bring this to the next level.
1.Choose the right part of pork| you should use pork belly to make crispy pork belly.
2.Poke as many holes as possible on the rind. The fat oil produced in the roasting process need ways to come out. Why we need oil coming through the holes? Because hot oil brings hot temperature, which can keep the rind something like gently deep-fried for a quite long time.
3.Applying baking soda or white vinegar can help to soften the skin and thus making the crispy pork belly even fluffy. But the remaining flavor of baking soda may bring some bitter taste to the skin. So the best solution is to set the pork for 30 minutes and then wash the skin before air-drying. I did not include this step in this recipe since it is not quite necessary for me.
4.The salt layer can help to absorb water and keep the skin dry. Cover a layer of sea salt on the surface can help to absorb the water released in the early of the roasting and keep the rind dry.
5.Marinating the pork belly for a longer time, at least overnight. We are roasting a large piece. During the marinating time, do not cover the pork belly with plastic wrapper. Place it in a large bowl and let it dry in the fridge.
You will need
- 1000g pork belly with beautiful layers
- 2 small chunks of ginger
- 2 scallions
- 1 tbsp. cooking wine
- 6-10 Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
Marinating
- 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp. Chinese five spice
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. white pepper
Roasting
- sea salt to cover the meat
- white vinegar for brushing
Instructions
Place the pork belly in a large pot (rind site down) with clean water, add cooking wine, scallion, ginger and sichuan peppercorn. Continue cook for 3 minutes after boiling.
Transfer the pork out and pat dry the water. Then pork as many as possible holes on the rind. Back and forth and repeat several times. This is the most important step. After the hard pork process, apply a small pinch of salt on the rind.
Cut two shallow lines on the pork (only the lean part, not deep to touch the fat) and then sprinkle the dry rub evenly.
Wrap the pork belly with foil wrappers and place in fridge overnight.Uncovered please, we need the rind to be dry before roasting.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degree C. Brush a thin layer of vinegar and spread salt evenly to form a protecting layer. Roast for 50 minutes.
Remove the salt and place the pork belly on the middle rack. Remember to use a tray to catch the dropping oils. Turn your oven to upper fire mode and turn up the temperature to 220 degree C.
Continue roasting for 20 to 25 minutes until the skin is well crackled. Let the pork belly stay in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until slightly cooled down. Transfer out and cut into small bites.
Cutting tips: place the skin side down. Cut the meat part firstly and then press the knife to break the crispy rinds.
How to serve
You can serve this with sugar, mustard sauce or Thai sweet and chili sauce. But not too many cubes each time. I would suggest 2 cubes for each individual. I make three strips this time and serve only 1 strip one meal. We have very similar dish in Western China, where the pork belly rind is deep-fried for crackling. Mixed chili peppers are used to remove the oily.
Other pork belly recipes
- Pork belly can be used in stir-fry recipes: twice cooked pork belly
- Pork belly can be roasted: Roasted pork belly with honey
- Pork belly can be red braised: red-braised pork belly.
- 1000 g pork belly with beautiful layers
- 2 small chunks of ginger
- 2 scallions
- 1 tbsp. cooking wine
- 6-10 Sichuan peppercorns ,optional
- 1.5 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. Chinese five spice
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. white pepper
- sea salt to cover the meat
- white vinegar for brushing
-
Place the pork belly in a large pot with clean water, add cooking wine, scallion, ginger and sichuan peppercorn. Continue cook for 3 minutes after boiling.
-
Transfer the pork out and pat dry the water. Then pork as many holes on the rind. Back and forth and repeat several times. This is the most important step.
-
After the hard pork process, apply a small pinch of salt on the rind.
-
Cut two shallow lines on the pork (only the lean part, not deep to touch the fat) and then sprinkle the dry rub evenly.
-
Wrap the pork belly with foil wrappers and place in fridge overnight.Uncovered please, we need the rind to be dry before roasting.
-
Pre-heat oven to 180 degree C. Brush a thin layer of vinegar and spread salt evenly to form a protecting layer. Roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour.
-
Remove the salt and place the pork belly on the middle rack. Remember to use a tray to catch the dropping oils. Use upper fire only at the temperature of 220 degree C, and roast until the rind is golden brown and well crackled.
-
Let the pork belly stay in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until slightly cooled down. Transfer out and cut into small bites.
-
Cutting tips: when cutting the pork belly, place the skin side down. Cut the meat part firstly and then press the knife to break the crispy rinds.
Elaine, this is another masterpiece by you. I told you before how much I enjoy Asian food and that I love learning about new dishes from China, well, that’s one of those dishes! Looks so appetizing!
Thanks Julia for your lovely comment. Yes from your recipes, I know your love towards Asian food. I am learning about some breads and baking recipes too, hoping to bring my family and friends more yummy food to enjoy. Glad to have friends like you in the process.
I have recently found your blog and i can’t stop reading your entries. You are doing a great job, it’ s one of the best food blogs ever!!! The photos are awsame and your videos on youtube are great too. Please keep making these videos !!!! chinese food snd culture snd cooking is my passion snd I have learnt so much from you:) thank you so much for sharing all those wonderful things:)
Hi Marzena,
Thanks for your encouraging words. They mean SO much to me! I will continue sharing yummy things I have found. Enjoy!
I came across your crispy pork belly recipe here on the internet. I was not previously familiar with you or your recipes. I went to the asian market nearby and bought a niece piece of pork belly and followed your recipe. It was so easy and came out just like the picture, It is a delicious treat. Even the cold leftover piece, I just slice like thick bacon and brown it in the pan with eggs for breakfast. Better than bacon, no chemicals and that crispy skin is so wonderful.
I am now a fan of yours!
Thanks Mike for your trust and feedback. I am so happy to know that you love crispy pork belly too. I do like various pork belly recipes. Happy cooking ahead.
Sounds delicious I will be trying this recipe tomorrow. Thanks for the simple intructions.
Thanks for dropping me the note. Good luck with the cooking ahead.
An easy to follow,and very tasty recipe,brilliant thankyou Elaine
Hi David,
Thanks for the feedback. I am so glad you succeeded on your side too because it is such a yummy dish.
I have been trying in vain to bake a crispy pork belly. I am trying your recipe tomorrow.
Great Ah, Look forward to your good news.
Interesting. I have read many many siu yuk recipes and this is the first time I see that the pork is boiled first.
Hi Tammy,
Boil the pork belly firstly can help to accelerate the roasting process especially for the rind.
My wife must truly love me. She made this for my dinner today. It was amazingly wonderful. Thank you for giving her this recipe.
Hi Steve,
You are such a caring husband. I made this dish for my husband too, but did not hear any nice words. And you are so lucky to have a wonderful wife too. Wish you too happy every day and happy cooking ahead.
Is it absolutely necessary to boil the pork belly before poking holes and such? Can I just season it, refrigerate it, then put it in the oven?
This is traditional way to make crispy pork belly in China. If the pork is not boiled previously, then you at least need to fry the rind on a pan for several minutes until it becomes harder so you can poke holes easily. Otherwise, it might be hard to form cracklings.
Please tell me when is the pork belly ready with good crackling. i followed your recipe and cooked it the second time for another 30 mins, but it still feels soft in the middle of the rind. Should I cut the rind off and roast it again separately?
Hi Lekaha,
You need to flat the pork belly before roasting it. If the four corners have been well crackled, the only choice is to separately roast the middle part.
This is perfect, I am going to make the pork belly and the fish soup tonight as I am hosting a rd egg and ginger party tonight for our neighbors and their one month old baby. Thank you…
oops, meant red egg…
Look forward to your good news Earl! Wish you a nice party.
Hi Elaine, I discovered your site a few months ago, and what a happy discovery! Your recipes are wonderful, your pictures absolutely beautiful, and both offer such a great insight into true Chinese (and Sichuanese) cooking. I’ve made the above pork belly for my husband, and he could not leave it alone. It was wonderful- rich and flavourful, with a wonderful crispy crackling. Thank you so much for sharing your fantastic recipes.
Hi Katie,
Glad to hear that your Mr. loves this pork belly as mine too. And so many sweet words. Thanks for your trust and sharing of your options. Keep cooking and enjoy!
Hello Elaine,
Is it absolutely necessary to wait two hours after boiling the pork belly or will less time suffice?
Hi Leah,
The 2 hour is for marinating so the inner side of the pork belly can also be flavored. I highly recommend to wait for such a time. But you should at least guarantee 30 minutes.
I made this recently and it was delicious! Thank you for the excellent recipe! I also made some snow peas with your recipe, and they were great too. Looking forward to making more things!
If I could also ask for some advice – I bought some sichuan cooking wine for this recipe, and I was wondering if you could point me to some other recipes that use it?
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the feedback. I am glad that my recipes can help. And for the cooking wine, you can use it in mostly Chinese meat dishes, the most common way is to use in marinating sauce for pork,beef, lamb,chicken etc.
Thanks, is do you recommend baking soda? i didnt put any baking soda and it was ok
Hi Jackie,
Baking soda will be helpful for more cracks. But it is absolutely optional.
I must try this. I love roasted belly pork with lovely crackling on top, so this will be an interesting variation. I also love making twice-cooked pork.
Go ahead, Carole. This is quite comforting dish requires little cooking skill.
Hi I used to make crispy pork belly by boiling, seasoning and fry the pork rind in oil. They turned out nicely but greasy. So I tried your receipe and it was a disaster. I followed exactly the steps described but the lean part which was wrapped with foil was burnt and part of the rind too. The crackles were uneven, parts were and parts not crispy. I think the soya sauce and sugar caused the burnt. Any suggestions?
Hi Chantel,
It is common that some part of (especially the corners) the lean get burnt as the temperature is high. You will need to remove them and brush a thin layer of oil.
The uneven crackles may be caused by two reasons: the first one is the uneven holes and the second might be the oven. I would suggest turning over the baking pan once or twice.
I have not tried any receipts yet but will do so this weekend Does anyone know how to make sugee cake that is moist and buttery that does not go rock hard if you have to refrigerate it? My grandma in Penang made just the best and I cannot duplicate it.
Many thanks
Hi Philippa,
The sugee cake made by your grandma, is it similar to this one https://chinasichuanfood.com/chinese-rice-cake-bai-tang-gao/?
Hi, my boyfriend had tried a recipe that is somewhat similar to yours. He first boiled the pork belly to 70% done and patted the skin dry. He then poked holes on the skin and applied thin layer of salt and baking soda. Then went on marinating the lean meat. After marinating the slab of pork will be left overnight in the fridge with the skin facing up. The next day an inch thick of salt were layered on the skin. The pork belly was then roasted in the oven at 230deg C for 40 minutes. After that the salt layer were removed and he continued roasting as per recipe. But the result came out with a soggy layer of skin. Only the sides of the skin were not soggy but they were hard. We are suspecting if we had poked the skin too deep. We also fear that while roasting with the salt layer, the roasting time was not sufficient to remove the moisture. Please help!!
Corinne,
Your time is not enough. Firstly you can roast with lower temperature with a longer time. Then use high temperature for example 230 degree C or 240 degree C and roast for at least 20 minutes. The salt should be turn into chunks with lower temperature. So the salt can be separated from the meat so the moisture can be evaporated successfully via the small gap.
Hi Elaine, I love Crispy Skin Pork and cannot wait to try this recipe. I can’t get the Chinese cooking wine. Can you suggest a good substitute for the Chinese cooking wine? Rum? Sherry?
Hi Judith,
You can use dry sherry as a substitute.
My pork belly has dried over night and I’m just about to pop it into the oven covered in salt. Can’t wait to see the result! Fingers crossed I didn’t prick the skin too deeply 🤞😊
The photograph showing crispy pork belly on a plate shows a disgusting filthy black fingernail. The photographer should have noticed it.
I should have noticed that. I will drag the picture down.
Wow! You cannot imagine how valuable this recipe this is for me! I love this pork belly since I was young and grew up eating it as a treat whenever we went to a Chinese restaurant. I have made it at home, but after following several recipes on the net – which didnt turn out the way I remembered it – I just decided to do the QUICK and EASY way. I just slapped salt all over a piece of pork belly, put in the oven for 50 minutes at 200C and crisped the skin at 220C for 10 minutes. Easy but not the same thing! Now I am going to try your recipe for real, and seeing how it turns out, I am betting my Siu Yuk future on your recipe. You have introduced a few techniques that I didnt know is very useful – such as boiling the meat with the rind down, cutting lines in the meat, wrapping it in foil the way you did. I believe these are essential steps that I didnt know of. I just want you to know that I am a daily visitor of your site as I am learning and to let you know that you are making a big difference to everyone who loves Sichuan Food and have discovered your blog. Please continue what you are doing and I hope life gives you the reward and satisfaction that you deserve. Your food recipes make a difference to my family!
Apologize! I think there must be a “code error” somewhere! I dont know why I have this strange avatar “SEX” associated with my name above. If you can erase it so much the better! Weird! SOrry, I did not intend for this to happen!
I hope I figured out the problem. Found that I had an account somewhere with Gravatar on it, and had a weird picture there,. I have tried to fix it. Hope it works!
It has worked. My profile has a picture of Bruce Lee on it. Very Chinese!
Found this recipe, followed it and it works. The pork was tender and delicious and the skin was crispy !!
Thanks Ying!
We are cooking your recipe right now. It smells and looks amazing.
Thanks Amanda!! Hope it comes out great.
My first attempt at cooking pork belly and it was one of th3 best pork belly dishes I have ever eaten! Delicious and easy! Thank you 👍
Thanks Carol. Pork belly has been always my favorite pork part along with butt. I am glad this turns out good at your side too. Happy cooking!
Thank you for the recipe! Your step by step instructions with pictures and detailed tips has helped to make the perfect Siu Yuk!
You are the most welcome,Christine! Thanks so much for your feedback.
How do you wrap in foil but still leave it uncovered !
Efren,
Haha, I have never thought that might be a problem. You get a large foil firstly, place the pork belly in the middle and then fold up the four sides, and the fold any extra parts inside the box. It is actually quite easy comparing with other common papers since foil can be shaped easily.
Hey
Recipe sounds fantastic – will be making tonight / tomorrow.
Can you suggest some serves / sides to go with this please?
I was thinking some steamed greens, mustard and Nd a sauce of black vinegar / ginger but feel it maybe needs something else to bring it together?
Thanks
Adam,
Yes, I agree greens (soup, salad or stir-fries) or salad (especially some strong black vinegar salad) can be quite good with this. In China, we usually serve this with sugar or a sweet and sour sauce.
Hi Elaine,
I don’t want to be impolite, but maybe you want to replace “mutilate” in the first sentence by “ultimate” . It sounds a little bit disturbing as is. On the other hand, as nobody else has mentioned this before people seem to like your recipes so much, that they overlook it 🙂
Thanks Andreas. It is ok to let me know directly. I got lots of typos when written in English.
Hi, elain.Firstly, thank you for sharing your precious recipes! I want to ask you how much more should I roast the pork when my oven only goes up to 200degree celsius (about the chongqing grill fish too) only.
I use microwave that has oven function.
Hi, elain.Firstly, thank you for sharing your precious recipes! I want to ask you how much more should I roast the pork when my oven only goes up to 200degree celsius (about the chongqing grill fish too) only. I use microwave that supports oven function
I never tried to use the oven function of microwave. I suggest roast 10 minutes firstly and then check the situation and start with another five minutes until the skin is well cracked. Can you watch what’s happening from the window?
This will not work with pork belly purchased from Costco. The slabs are way too thick. I noticed your pork belly is about half the thickness of the Costco ones. I had it in the refrigerator for over a day uncovered and with lots and lots of holes with a layer of salt and it still didn’t dry out the pork skin enough. The skin started to burn before it stated to puff up. I also did apply a coat of rice vinegar before coating it with salt.
This and all the other recipes online look so easy but I have to say, mine was a failure. I guess I need to try with a thinner slab of pork belly and leave it in the refrigerator a lot longer to dry out the skin more.
I Mac, I cannot figure out what’s wrong. But the recipe is really simple. I never met similar problem before. Go ahead and try with a thinner slab. But I also suggest slightly lower the temperature of your oven or place the pork in lower rack.
Thank you for recipe. The pork belly turned out amazing.
Thanks Penny for the feedback. Nice to know it works out fine for you too.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve been trying to find something like this for years and I tried this today, it was PERFECT. Thanks again!
Thank you Paul. This really is an amazing method for pork belly. Enjoy your cooking!
Thank you so much Elaine for the time you take to share these wonderful recipes, with great photos and detail. I will have to try this recipe even though we’re avoiding meat lately. But this is worth it 🙂 I have never found the 5 spices you mentioned in the supermarket – do you know which are they so maybe I can buy them separately? Thank you for a “to be“ very happy family meal
Paula,
Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback. If you failed to find Chinese five spice powder, check this post and make it at home.