Roasted pork belly with honey also known as Chinese BBQ pork is a famous dish in the southern part of China especially in Guangdong province. It has a slightly savory yet sweet taste. Homemade roasted pork belly with honey needs only easy preparation but yield a well-balanced wonderful taste.
We love pork belly very much! You may find there are lots of yummy pork belly recipes here, including Cantonese roasted crispy pork belly, Hong Shao Rou and Shanxi style stewed pork belly used in Chinese Roujiamo, twice cooked pork belly, Szechuan style cold pork belly in hot garlic sauce. Pork butt and pork belly are the two most best ingredients for Chinese BBQ pork. However they provide slightly different tastes due to different fat amounts.
This is a simplified version with very basic home cooking sauces. For a well-flavored homemade roasted pork, enough marinating time is the key to success. Make the preparation in previous day and guarantee 24 hours to 48 hours marinating. This would be a great dish for a big family dinner party.
You will need
- 500g pork belly (around 1 pound )
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3-4 ginger slices
- 1 scallion
- Honey water for brushing (1 tablespoon honey + 1 tablespoon marinating sauce or water)
Marinating sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon five-spicy powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
Cut the pork belly into smaller strips and then mix with marinating sauce, ginger, garlic and scallion. Place in air-tight bag and do a small message. Then keep in fridge for 24 hours to 48 hours.
On the next day, prepare a small bowl to mix the 1 tablespoon honey with 1 tablespoon of marinating sauce. Brush the honey sauce on both sides of the pork belly. Roast for around 20 minutes. Take out and brush honey water once again. Continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut into slices after cooling down.
The following step is optional: if you want to strengthen the taste, simmer the marinating sauce for 4-5 minutes and serve as a dip or drizzle on top. If serve directly, do not eat too much once. But you can use it as ingredient in noodle soups, as a filling for buns or stir fries including Singapore Mei Fun and classic Cantonese pork fried rice. And sometimes, I serve it with steamed fold over buns.
- 500 g pork belly , around 1 pound
- Honey water for brushing , 1 tablespoon honey + 1 tablespoon marinating sauce
- 2 garlic clove , sliced
- 1 spring onion
- 3-4 ginger slices
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1 tbsp. cooking wine
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 1/4 tsp. five-spicy powder
- 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
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Clean the pork belly and drain.
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In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for sauce well.
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Marinate the pork belly with the sauce for 24 to 48 hours in fridge.
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Preheat oven to 200 degree C.
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Prepare a small bowl to mix the 1 tablespoon honey with 1 tablespoon of marinating sauce. Brush the honey sauce on both sides of the pork belly. Roast for around 20 minutes.
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Turn over and brush the honey water again. Roast for another 10 to 15 minutes.
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Cool down for several minutes and cut into slices before serving.
Recipe Video
Recipe firstly published in 2013 and updated in 2016.
Learn Chinese Via Chinese Food Menu
Chinese BBQ Pork 叉烧猪肉 chā-shāo（Char Sui）-zhū-ròu(pork)
Roasted Pork Belly with Honey 蜜糖烤五花肉 mì-táng(honey)-kǎo(roast)-wǔ-huā-ròu(pork belly )
This recipe is amazing and we have made it several times! I was wondering how much is considered one serving? I’m trying to log my calories and couldn’t figure it out.
Hi Mimi,
I am not sure the actual serving amount after cooked. But for raw ingredients, it is around 125g for each person.
I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this recipe! I have made it several times now, and finally remembered to post a review. I wouldn’t change anything about it.
Thanks Vera for this lovely feedback.
Hi, I made this and it tastes wonderful, However, the skin is quite chewy, any suggestion on how to make the skin not chewy? Thank you.
Lrene,
Simply the problem of the pork. If you use the same batch next time, place the pork (skin downside) and then add a very small amount of water to cover the skin only. Cook for around 10 to 15 minutes can help to soften the skin.
What honey did you use? I used manuka and it taste funny
The honey I used is the common wild honey from my Uncle. So no brand. Try to use less stronger honey or if you don’t love the taste, use syrup as a substitute.
Made this tonight and it was so yummy. The family ate this all up! I prepared and marinated the pork belly for 48 hours. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thanks for the feedback, Sharon. Love to know it turns out good for you.
Just prepared this ready to cook tomorrow. I didn’t have any hoisin sauce though…what could I use as a substitute? I left it out of the recipe unfortunately
If you don’t have Claudia, skip it and add more oyster sauce.