Crispy Pork Belly
It was not too long ago when a new Asian market opened up a few miles from our house, and as always, I was pretty darn excited. Granted the distance was the same to this new store as it would have been to any other Asian market in town, but this one was special. This was the market the size of a standard grocery store. Sure this market has three aisles of soy sauce, and 4 aisles of noodles, but the excitement remained the same, especially that they had a full meat and seafood department, of which I had interest in.
After trying one of their banh mi which they make fresh on site, I went to the meat department and the pork belly quickly caught my attention. My coworker and I have been talking about pork belly for some time now. We have both been wanting to make our own bacon, but what I also have been wanting to make is that awesome crispy pork that you often find in Chinese restaurants, if you are lucky that is.
The Chinese make their version of crispy pork belly, as do the Filipinos. The Filipino version of crispy pork belly is known as lechon kawali, however, I wanted to get a crispy pork without having to fry anything. After all, there is plenty of top fat on the pork belly, allowing you to roast the pork to perfection. If you have never tried this at a restaurant, now is your chance. Not only is this recipe really simple, but it is a great snack that almost anyone who likes pork is going to love.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs of pork belly
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp sea salt
- 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice
- 1 tbsp Chinese Black Bean Chili Paste
Begin by scoring your pork belly. With a sharp knife slice into the fat, making cross marks, just deep enough to not cut through the pork. Poke the bottom and side of the pork, making incisions throughout the pork.
Mix the all of the ingredients, with the exception of the salt and vinegar. Place the pork in a large ziplock bag, and pour in the mixed ingredients. Seal and begin massaging the pork, getting the mixture rubbed into the pork. Rub it well. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, but overnight if you can.
When you are ready to cook the pork, remove it from the bag and place fat side up on a large baking sheet covered with foil and lined with a grated baking rack.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Take some paper towel and completely dry or remove any moisture from the top fat. Sprinkle with the salt and brush the vinegar on top of the fat.
Place the baking sheet with the pork in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. The time pretty much begins to brown and crispy up the pork while some of that goodness drips down onto the pork itself, adding more flavor.
After the 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook for one hour.
Remove the sheet from the oven and let cool. When you are ready to serve, cut into bite sized pieces and serve with the following:
Dipping Sauce:
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- pinch of red chili flakes
- pinch of black pepper
Not only are these crispy pork belly nuggets addicting, but they are so delicious. I had a whole table of kids gobbling them down, they were that great! Enjoy.
22 Comments
ShopCookMake
Yum! I love Pork Belly
bogus
I have never seen pork belly in the grocery store. Is there another name for this or is it only available in Asian markets?
Anxious to try this recipe.
LaRae
I am a meat cutter at Earth Fare in Jacksonville Beach, Florida and we carry it my department. I am actually cooking a little right now. First time and made an English Muffin with clean eggs, natural/clean pork belly and they are delicious, yes they because I couldn’t eat just one.
Dax Phillips
Thanks LaRae, and you’re right, it’s hard to just eat one. I actually smoked some pork belly last week, and then cubed and crisped them to finish. Talk about awesome!
Riza Blackwell
I don’t know where you live, but in Los Angeles, there’s a big Filipino grocery store called Seafood City. You can buy all the pork belly you want.
R.S.Akau
Look for the telltale 1/4″ pork skin with what appears to be bacon iooking streaks of fat and corned beef meat beneath it. 1 to 1.5# strips are becoming popular for side dish creation. Names may vary.
Virginia
The pre-cooked easy to use 12 0z packages are in Trader Joe’s stores all over. Some butcher stores have it and also Whole Foods markets.
Jim
Check any Chinese store that has a butcher counter. It will be there. I’ve seen pork belly in some Filipino stores as well. Take care.
Nicole
Wholefoods has it sometimes
nolan
ask your butcher for it. most will have it but if not they can order it and have it for you the next day.
winejew
I just cooked a french trimmed center cut rack of pork. I had to special order the cut, so when I arrived, he prepared it for us. He started by cutting of the pork belly from the bones. When I noticed it had meat on it, he said they normally use it to make sausage but let me have it instead. I’ve had this dish in Chinatown, so I’m really looking forward to trying it at home.
John Sharpe
Rosemont Market in Portland, ME, has pork belly on a regularr basis.
Lauren R
My hubby and I made this dish after getting some pork belly from a near by butcher shop (and Trader Joe’s is selling “uncured bacon”, which is pork belly, just sliced, BTW), and it was good, but the meat was super tough. I forgot to pat the meat dry after marinating it, so it wasn’t as crispy as it should have been, but still tasty. A quick suggestion though, when you turn down the oven after roasting at 425 degrees, turn it down to 300, then continue cooking for 2 hours. This way, the meat gets so tender, you can cut it with a butter knife! Also, basting the top with more vinegar helps keep the fat extra crispy.
Allan
You can also get it at Latino grocery stores. It’s called Chicaron
steven
i just went to my local butcher and asked for a slap of unsliced side pork and i got a nice 7.5lb slap. cant wait to try this with a portion of it!!
Natalie
I just made this, and while it was crispy, I didn’t realize that the crispy fat also has tiny gross hairs on it. I don’t have a torch, so this was a fail for me. 🙁
Make sure you take care of those hairs before you cook your pork belly.
Mary Phillips
I cooked this for my spouse’s birthday party and it was great. Thanks for an awesome recipe. Looking forward to more Asian influenced recipes. =)
Liz
This recipe doesn’t mention whether pork belly should have skin removed, but I am assuming so by the pic of the scored belly fat. Is that right? Thnx! Marinating tonight!
Dax Phillips
Hi Liz… Skin on, but not too thick. This is the beauty when it renders and gets crispy.
ray harris
I saw pork belly at my costco store this week, santa cruz calif.
Candy Johnson
I also saw it at Costco in Glendale this week.