(Source with minor adaptions)
Ingredients
- 3lbs boneless pork belly, skin on
- 2 Tbsp salt
Marinade
- 1 Tbsp 5 spice powder (star anise, cloves, fennel, sichuan peppercorn, cinnamon)
- 1 tsp large flake sea salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
- 2 large cloves of garlic, smashed into a paste
- 3 cubes of Chinese red yeast fermented tofu (nam yu)
- 1 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine or Shao Xing wine
- 2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar (to brush on skin after 1st roasting)
Directions
1. Assemble all your ingredients. Mix the marinade into a paste.
(fermented red yeast bean curd, Shoaxing wine, garlic, homemade five spice powder)
2. The pork belly at the market was cut rather small so I asked for two pieces. It turned out to be quite serendipitous because I can use it to illustrate the differences between an ideal cut of meat with thin, alternating layers of fat and meat (left) versus a fattier, meatier, chunkier piece (right) that is not going to taste or look as delicious.
3. I also took this opportunity to try two different rind-crisping methods since there are basically two schools of thought regarding the pork rind.
I interrupt this blog post with a PSA:
Your pork belly may have nipples.
You may leave them on but I highly suggest cutting them off. I don't really want to see nipples on my food and I don't want to eat nipples on my food. But if nipples are your thing, then by all means, leave the nipples.
(NSFW)
Some people dunk or pour boiling hot water over the belly to tighten the rind and allow it to evaporate water more quickly. Other people just blot the rind dry and allow it to air dry naturally. I tried both methods and discovered that the boiling water method did produce a minimally better crust.
4. Scrub scrub scrub your pork belly clean with a bit of salt under running water. Pat dry and go at it with a pair of sturdy tweezers to remove any pork bristles left.
5. After epilation, flip the meat up and score the meat in a diamond pattern. This allows the marinade to flavor the meat more evenly.
6. Rub the marinade into every nook and cranny. Flip it back over and place it on a clean pan.
7. Pat the skin dry and sprinkle 1 large Chinese soup spoon of sea salt or other large flake salt over the skin. Do not rub it in, just pat it on gently.
8. Let it chill in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
9. After 12-24 ours, remove the pork bellies and lightly brush off the salt crust. The un-blanched piece above has some waterlogged parts of the skin while the edges have started to dry out. The blanched piece below is uniformly dry and even-textured. You want your belly to be as flat as possible because the difference in height will cause uneven roasting. (But don't worry, there is a remedy/hack for that).
10. Roast the bellies elevated over a lined pan for 40 minutes at 450 degrees F.
11. Carefully remove from the oven (beware of sloshing liquid fat!) and pluck out any remaining bristles. Make 10,000 tiny pin pricks into the rind. I used a medical grade surgical steel lancet typically used by estheticians but you can use a long needle or sharp knife. Maybe even a wood skewer. You have to make sure you pierce through the skin but not so deep that it goes too far into the fat. Afterward, brush on a it of rice vinegar and pop it back in the oven to roast until the skin is completely puffed and crispy.
12. Halfway through roasting. The blanched piece is puffing more quickly and evenly
13. If your pork is roasting unevenly, cover the crisped portions with aluminum foil lest it burn.
14. Don't worry, even if it does blanken and char, you can just scrape the burnt parts off like you would scrape off burnt toast. It's better to be burnt in than undercooked.
15. Sadly, I do not have a pretty picture of the pork belly because we were all in a hurry to eat it. Just remember to let the roast pork cool completely before cutting into it or the juices from the pork will make the crust soggy and a soggy crust is no bueno mmmm ho seik!
Served as "peking duck" style appetizer with slivered green onions, cucumber, homemade baozi, and a bit of diluted hoisin sauce.
