Cantonese Roast Pork Belly
User Reviews
4.9
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Prep Time
1 d
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Cook Time
2 hrs
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Total Time
1 d 2 hrs
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Servings
8 servings
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Calories
755 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Chinese
Cantonese Roast Pork Belly
Description
This recipe for Cantonese Roast Pork Belly highlights preparing the pork belly with its skin on, rubbed with Shaoxing wine and a seasoning blend of salt, sugar, five spice powder, and white pepper. Piercing the skin all over with a sharp metal skewer promotes crisping during cooking, and drying under refrigeration enhances this effect. The baking method involves encasing the pork in foil on a tray and packing sea salt evenly over the skin after brushing it with rice wine vinegar, which helps dry and crisp the skin throughout roasting. The combination of seasonings and the technique of salting the skin results in a savory roast pork with distinctive crunchy skin and tender meat beneath, a hallmark of Cantonese roast pork belly.
Roast pork belly like this is ideal served sliced alongside steamed rice or as part of a larger meal with vegetables. The crisp skin adds a textural contrast to the rich, flavorful pork meat.
Ingredients
- 3 lb pork belly with skin on, slab
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup sea salt coarse
Instructions
- Rinse the pork belly and pat dry. Place it skin-side down on a tray, and rub the Shaoxing wine into the meat (not the skin). Mix together the salt, sugar, five spice powder and white pepper. Thoroughly rub this spice mixture into the meat as well. Flip the meat over so it’s skin-side up.
- So, to do the next step, you'll need a sharp metal skewer. Systematically poke holes ALL over the skin, which will help the skin crisp up, rather than stay smooth and leathery. The more holes there are, the better, really. Let it dry out in the fridge uncovered, for 12-24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a large piece of aluminum foil (heavy duty foil works best) onto a baking tray, and fold up the sides around the pork snugly, so that you’re creating a kind of box all around it, with a 1-inch high border going around the sides.
- Brush the rice wine vinegar on top of the pork skin. Pack the sea salt in one even layer over the skin, so the pork is completely covered. Place in the oven and roast for 1 hour and 30 minutes. If your pork belly still has the rib attached, roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- Take the pork out of the oven, turn on the broiler to low, and position the oven rack in the lowest position. Remove the top layer of sea salt from the pork belly, and unfold the foil. Put the pork back under the broiler to crisp up. This should take 5-10 minutes. The broiler should ideally be on “low” so that this process can happen gradually. If your broiler gets pretty hot, be sure to keep the pork as far away from the heat source as possible. Keep a close eye on it to prevent burning!
- When the skin has puffed up and gotten crispy, remove from the oven. Let it rest for about 15 minutes and then slice.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 8servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 755 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 755kcal | 38% |
| Carbohydrates | 1g | 0% |
| Protein | 16g | 32% |
| Fat | 90g | 138% |
| Saturated Fat | 33g | 165% |
| Cholesterol | 122mg | 41% |
| Sodium | 636mg | 27% |
| Potassium | 315mg | 7% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 15IU | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 0.5mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 10mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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