This is a Crispy Pork Belly recipe, just like you get from the Chinese BBQ meat shop! The best crackling in the world with juicy seasoned flesh, no one does crispy pork belly like the Chinese.
And this is how they make it. (It’s easy!)
Chinese Crispy Pork Belly recipe
In my humble opinion, the Chinese are the undisputed king of two things: crispy duck and crispy pork belly.
It’s unlikely that I will ever share a proper Peking Duck recipe because it’s too hard to make properly in an ordinary home kitchen.
Pork belly, on the other hand, is totally doable. That juicy, seasoned flesh. But mostly, it’s all about…..
The best crackling in the world
Chinese pork belly crackling is, in my humble opinion, the best crackling in the world. With the signature puffy bubbles all over, this Pork Belly Crackling is crispy and crumbly in a way that you will never achieve on a pork roast, even pulling out all the secret crackling tips.
That’s what makes Chinese Crispy Pork Belly so sought after. The reason why the best Chinese BBQ meat shops have queues around the block on weekends.
And today, my friends, you’re going to see how easy it is to make your own Chinese pork belly that comes out looking just like this ↓↓↓.
The secret to the best pork belly in the world
And here are the two secrets to perfect crispy pork belly that the Chinese discovered*:
1. Pricking lots of holes in the skin = puffy crackling with bubbles. This is what makes all the difference, yielding that beautiful bubbly crackling that is so unique to Chinese pork belly.
The Chinese have a special tool that they use to prick the skin. Me, I have my Basic Instinct moment and use an ice pick. It works remarkably well. But anything that is pointy and sharp will work just fine – for example, metal skewers.
And yes, if you find it all too hard, you can skip this pricking step. More on that below in the Easy Non Pricking Method. 🙂
* I credit them for this genius discovery, but I’m not actually sure if they discovered it!
2. Roast covered in rock salt = crispy crackling. Salt draws moisture to the surface, helping to guarantee you’ll get crispy crackling every single time. And yes, it works whether you do the pricking or not. Again, more on that below.
Why rock salt?
Rock salt is easy to remove and also will not penetrate into the holes while roasting, making the pork far too salty.
The pork belly is first roasted with the salt crust, then the salt crust is removed. At this stage, the skin is rubbery and looks thoroughly unappetising (step 7 above).
All it takes to transform the ugly ducking into a crispy golden swan is to stick it under the grill/broiler for 25 minutes. Watch in amazement as it starts to puff and crackle and becomes soo crispy!!!
Pork Belly Marinade
The pork flesh is infused with subtle flavour by marinating it in classic Chinese flavours – Chinese cooking wine (or dry sherry or even Mirin), five spice powder, salt and white pepper.
There are some Chinese pork belly recipes “out there” that don’t marinate, but I really think it’s worth the time to do this otherwise the flesh somewhat lacks Chinese flavour (in my humble opinion).
ALTERNATIVE:
EASY NON PRICKING METHOD
If you don’t have something suitable for or are having troubles pricking the skin, don’t be sad, there is another way to Chinese Crispy Pork Belly heaven!
With this alternative method which is virtually foolproof, you can skip pricking the skin and the crackling will still be outrageously crispy, however, it will not have the signature puffy bubbles that Chinese Pork Belly is known for.
When you break the crackling, it will snap cleanly rather than partially crumbling which the puffy crackling does (which you can see in the video).
The reason this method is foolproof is because with the traditional Chinese method, if you are too enthusiastic with the pricking and pierce too far into the fat (or even worse, into the flesh), the juices will bubble up onto the skin, and the wetness as the skin is being grilled/broiled will cause little splotches where the skin is not super crispy.
Doesn’t the crackling using this simple Alternative Method look almost impossibly perfect?? Check out that colour!
How to serve crispy pork belly
This is the typical way to serve it: cut into slices, then each slice cut into smaller pieces. Small pieces is the go here because pork belly is rich!
As for sauce, Chinese pork belly is typically served with mustard. Either your everyday yellow mustard or Hot English Mustard which is my favourite. The kick of fresh heat pairs so well with the richness of the pork belly!
I’ve also had it served with white sugar. Just a small dish of everyday white sugar that you dip the pork into. It’s really good.
As for sides, because pork belly is rich, I just serve it with plain fresh vegetables. My favourite is cucumber and radish because they’re so fresh and radish also has a kick of spiciness.
Plus, they add great colour to the plate, don’t you think?
Chinese Crispy Pork Belly – SUMMARY
I realise there’s a lot of information in the above, so I though it would be useful to finish with a summary. ❤️
- Traditional Chinese Crispy Pork Belly has a golden puffy crispy crackling that almost crumbles when you bite into it. It’s complete and utter bliss to experience!
- To make puffy crackling, you need to prick lots and lots of little holes in the skin. If you accidentally prick too far into the fat under the skin, or even worse, the flesh, this may cause juices to bubble to the surface which may result in some splotches that are not 100% crisp. The Chinese have a special tool to do this. I use an ice pick (aka my Basic Instinct moment😂).
- If pricking the holes seems like too hard work, skip it and opt for the Alternative Easy Non Pricking Method for Crispy Pork Belly
- The Alternative Easy Non Pricking Method yields a crackling that is a beautiful golden brown that is outrageously crispy but without bubbly crackling. The crackling snaps rather than crumbles like the authentic Crispy Chinese Pork Belly. It is still a stunning crackling that many people dream of. ☺️ This method is very easy with guaranteed crispy crackling, every single time.
- DO NOT SKIP THE VIDEO!! Just wait until you hear how crispy that crackling is!!
To all crackling lovers out there, this one is for YOU! – Nagi x
PS Oh wait, it’s also for Chinese New Year which is tomorrow! ❤️
More food for Chinese New Year
Celebrate Chinese New Year with the best of Chinese food!
- Potstickers – steamed dumplings with crispy golden undersides
- Spring Rolls – better than Egg Rolls!
- Fried Rice – Chinese takeout standard (no false promises)
- Chinese BBQ Pork (Char Siu) – just like you get from Chinese BBQ meat shops!
- Chinese Steamed Pork Buns – big fluffy white buns filled with BBQ pork
- Browse all Chinese Recipes and Asian Takeout copycat recipes
Crispy Chinese Pork Belly
Watch how to make it
Don’t watch this on Mute…. you want to hear how crispy that crackling is!!
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Chinese Crispy Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 1 pork belly, skin on (800 - 1.2kg / 1.6 - 2.4 lb) (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) (Note 2)
- 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder (Note 3)
- 1 tsp white pepper (sub black pepper)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp white vinegar (helps conduct heat evenly)
- 200 g / 7 oz rock salt (Note 4)
Instructions
Prepare Pork Belly
- Use an ice pick, sharp metal skewer or another tool to prick tons and tons of holes in the skin. Avoid piercing int o the fat as best you can, and really ensure you do not pierce the flesh (Note 5)
- Turn the pork belly upside down. Rub the flesh (not skin) with Chinese cooking wine, dribbling it on gradually. Sprinkle over five spice powder, salt and pepper. Rub all over flesh, including sides (not on skin).
- Turn skin side up and place in a container. Dab skin dry with paper towels. Refrigerate uncovered for 12 hours (max 24 hrs, min 3 hrs).
Cook:
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (all oven types).
- Remove pork from fridge. Place onto a large sheet of foil. Fold up sides of foil around the pork to enclose it snugly (see photos in post or video) with a 1.5cm / 2/5" rim above the pork skin (to hold salt in).
- Transfer pork to baking tray. Dab skin with paper towels.
- Brush skin with vinegar.
- Spread rock salt on the skin (the foil edges will stop it from falling down the sides).
- Roast for 60 minutes.
- Remove pork from oven and transfer onto work surface.
- Switch to grill/broiler on medium high. Move shelf so it is at least 25cm/10" from the heat source.
- Fold down foil and scrape all the salt off the top and sides. Return pork only (i.e. discard foil) to baking tray.
- Place under grill/broiler for 20 - 25 minutes, rotating tray once, until skin is golden, crispy and puffed. (Note 6)
To Serve
- Remove pork onto cutting board. Slice into 1 - 1.5cm / 2/5 - 3/5" thick slices, then into smaller slices like pictured in post.
- Serve with ordinary yellow mustard - or Hot English Mustard if you like spicy like me! Not Dijon, just ordinary American or other yellow mustard (yes really!). Sometimes it is served with white sugar on the side too. Add some fresh raw vegetables (I use cucumber and radish).
Recipe Notes:
- Follow recipe up to and including brushing with vinegar but do not prick skin.
- Cover skin with rock salt per recipe, OR use 1 cup kosher/cooking/table salt (enough to cover skin about 3 - 5 mm / 1/8 - 1/5" thick). If you use fine grain salt, make sure the foil is VERY snug around the edges - if salt falls down the sides, it will make the flesh salty.
- Roast per recipe and scrape off salt.
- Instead of flicking to grill/broiler, turn the oven up to 240C/465F. For this method, oven works better to make skin crispy.
- Place pork on a rack and return to baking tray, roast for a further 30 minutes or until crackling is golden and crispy.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published January 2017. Entire post refreshed, new photos added, brand new (much better!) video. No change to recipe, though writing was cleaned up a bit.
‘Life of Dozer
I had many, many chances to catch this shot…. he was doing this the whole time I was shooting the pork belly!!
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I’m a little confused on what I should do about broiling. My oven only has Hi or Lo settings, not medium high….so would HI be ok? I also saw your note about instead of broiling, increase the oven temp to 465 degrees? Am I understanding that correct?
Hi Tracy, yes you can turn the oven up if you don’t want to broil. Otherwise I’d put in on High and lower the rack so it’s not too close to the element. Just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn ❤️
Nom, nom, nom. fail proof recipe. Best crackling ever. So delicious! Thank you.
Made this for Sunday lunch today and it was devine. perfect crackling and the meat was lovely and juicy with plenty of flavour. Thanks for sharing – Happy family well fed.
Wahoo!
Wow! I was surprised at how little spice rub is needed to make it taste perfect.
Thank you for all your work in refining recipes until you got this one just like you want it.
And I love the doggo <3
Wanted to drop a message to say what an AMAZING recipe this is!!!! I’m not much of a chef except for the occasional noodles and stir-fries but my buddy made an amazing twice-cooked pork in a month ago and I was surprised how easy it was to cook pork belly. I’ve never had the confidence to cook anything other than mince pork.
Bought 1kg of pork belly and made 2 separate meals from it – said twice-cooked pork (in the instant pot!) being a HK girl I was CRAVING for siu yuk and found this recipe!
Had everything except for the 5 spice in the marinade, the salt rub process was way easier than expected. 60 min roast, the skin looked pretty much cooked by the time I scraped off the salt. 15 mins into the grill it started to look abit burnt so took it out earlier.
Finished product with red rice and blanched cabbage with garlic. YUMMMMM! Meat was tender and juicy with all the flavours, skin was crispy (was worried as I didn’t poke holes)
The partner agrees that its the best meal I’ve ever made!
Thanks so much for such easy, straight forward recipe! Look forward to making more 🙂
Sounds like you nailed it Christina!!!
hi the only pork belly available to me is very meaty a nice fat layer about 1sixteenth inch thick one side again very meaty one thin layer fat through center piece is 9 in by 4inch with 1 inch thick what would you do with no skin ???
Hi Joseph, this recipe is only suitable for pork with skin sorry, otherwise it would absorb too much salt. – N x
Hi Nagi, just wanted tp tell you that your video & recipe for Crispy Pork Belly is being used by a company called Tasman Butchers here in Victoria. I do not know if you have authorised this or not. It was in a fb post l received. I recognised your hands. Please respond to this comment. Thankyou for your delicious recipes.
First, let me say you are a freakin’ genius, Nagi! After a few epic fails with pork belly, I had resigned myself to a sad existence without it. Given I’m too stubborn to normally use a recipe, I was despairing my lack of pork belly prowess. The trick you outline in this blog is brilliant, and I have renewed hope that I can continue to enjoy awesome pork belly. I might even overcome my stubbornness and try a few more off your blog. Thanks heaps for providing, it has changed my culinary life for the better!
Oh, and P.S., I ate so much I might very imminently explode!
Aww shucks!! That’s so nice to hear Tim!
I made this last night. Turned out great. The crackling was super crispy – just like your video. I used a cocktail fork which has 2 sharp prongs to pierce the skin. Personally, I love reading your blogs to hear what you think, and what you and your family have been up to. I used to live in Clareville before moving to Thailand, and i enjoy your photos around the northern beaches (and anywhere for that matter). You are very witty Nagi and you often bring a smile to my face. As for Dozer, I can’t bear to miss reading about him. Even when there is a recipe I’m not interested in, I push the Dozer button!! Don’t change anything you do Nagi – you are the best!! Keep up the great work and thank you xxxx
Made this again last night for dinner and soo good always mean to make double!. Cant believe that comment from Ellen? I must say that your blog it makes me want to try your recipes and you have the best blog out there. You dont need negative people like that and i honestly hope it hasn’t upset you too much. Look at all the positive feedback that you get that is what counts.
Thanks so much Jackie, I really appreciate it!
I rarely find large pieces of pork belly. Does the roasting time change with a smaller piece(s) – I assumed it would but wasn’t sure how to figure it out. Recipe looks AMAZING.
Hi Annie, what size piece of pork are you using?
I have made this twice. The first time I prepped it all and it was marinating. My mom misunderstood my instructions and put it in the oven when I hadn’t finished putting the salt on. It turned out fine, although the skin was not as airy as what you buy. But then the second time, I did the whole thing correctly. Marinated for 24 hours, put it on foil with the salt and OMG it was so delicious! The skin was crisp but airy just like when you buy it. I used a meat tenderizer like this,
https://www.amazon.ca/OXO-Good-Grips-Easy-Clean-Tenderizer/dp/B00HEZ8A1U/ref=sr_1_16?crid=3UM9EZWDAXZYS&keywords=meat+tenderizer&qid=1552061812&s=gateway&sprefix=meat+tender%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-16 and it works!
Fantastic recipe and definitely going to make again!
This was sooo good I made it the non poking method and it was perfect crispy crispy! i also sent a comment on your beef stew but forgot to write in the comment section so you will get a glowing review but you might not know what it was so I will repeat -wonderful wonderful!
Thanks so much Nancy!!!
I totally made this last week and I didn’t have an ice pick or a metal skewer. Only a wooden one. Tried to poke holes but they were too shallow, so it didn’t puff up as much but it was still delicious! There weren’t any leftovers. Yesterday my husband went out and bought me an ice pick just so I can make this again. LOL. Thanks!
I love this! Hopefully next time your crackling will be fabulous!! ❤️
I’m beginning to think I may have to return to physical cookbooks. I DO NOT WANT TO READ THESE PAGES AND PAGES long blog posts about how and why and when someone learned to cook something. I DO NOT CARE about the “human interest” story. I want the effing recipe. And sometimes, i give up before I ever FIND the effing recipe. And tell me, IS there an alternative recipe on this page? Because if there is, I CANNOT FIND IT! So I am slightly enraged, yes. And I will do all I can to avoid this site and all your photos and all your blogging and talking and not giving the recipe.
And I cannot figure out how to edit my angry comment, although I am still very frustrated and angry, having looked at many recipes. I think I should go dig out my very good Chinese cookbook and my Julia Child cookbooks and my NY Times cookbooks and skip all the food blogs. There is one food blog I will never skip, and it isn’t this one. Chat, chat, chat, chat, chat. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. About yourself or your recipe. But never the recipe. Until the bottom of the very, very, very long page, and which seems to be missing one recipe which is alluded to somewhere in the oh-so-long blog post. It’s like people on Youtube who post that this Youtube is about such and so, but who introduce their video with 20 minutes of chitchat about this and that, rather than getting to the point of why you idiotically clicked on their video, because who has a half an hour to devote to, say, five or six videos? Not me. It’s also like a press release. Shorter and more to the point is always better. Always. Better.
Wow, you certainly seem to have some anger management issues, if you have such a problem with this site ,avoid it, no one will mind. Ps I love it, finding the recipe is pretty simple, you scroll down till you find it, it is framed, so it’s hard to miss.
,
Thanks Michelle! Also – nice little Jump to Recipe button right at the top there! 🙂 N x
Hello Ellen! May I remind you you are using my recipe for free, looking at my photos for free, watching my video tutorial for free. I do suggest you return to purchasing cookbooks! Please don’t come back to my website, you are not welcome to use my recipes. Thank you! – Nagi PS Guess you missed the Jump to Recipe button right at the top, huh? So you can skip right past all my “crap”. Goodbye, have a nice life! 😇
I haven’t made this yet but this sounds delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed all the background and photos. Thanks so much for sharing!
Wow you obviously had plenty of your useless time to leave this horrible comment. If you had clicked recipe button you would have gone straight to the recipe but no you’d rather spend your life being a nasty person.
Thanks for all your recipes Nagi. They’re all great x
How incredibly rude! And if you had actually read the ‘crap’ you would find it’s not actually her life story but more detailed instructions on how and why to follow certain steps! Cannot believe the audacity, I mean I also don’t love it when some food bloggers write page after page ahead of the recipe for no reason but JUST SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM and voila! RECIPE. Not that difficult. As Nagi says this is all free, and the work and passion that goes into these recipes is so evident, she should really be charging (but please don’t because I love your recipes!!!!!). On a totally different note – Nagi – I have made this the first time trying with the pricking method but tried using a paring knife and definitely don’t recommend 😂😅 super uneven and patchy haha you did warn us!!! Luckily still super tasty even if the crackling didn’t work out that well. Am going to try the foolproof method today!!! Keep up the awesome work, your recipes are fantastic. Sending love and good vibes ✌🏼 Ps give dozer a pat for me! 😁
Ellen – no one appreciates your trash comment. You seem in capable of simple tasks (like reading) and get flustered very easily. You are a detriment to people trying to advance their skills.
I live in France where there is plenty of good food and recipes to cook it with….but…
there are almost no good asian restaurants and few asian supermarkets.
As a Brit I am wedded to good asian food so thanks a lot for you recipes Nagi.
You’re so welcome Peter!
Do you think this would work if it was refrigerated for transport after roasting, then broiled to finish later?
Hi Jordan, cook it including the crackling then store and reheat per note 8, weirdly crackling loses crispiness if fully reheated!