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!!
Hi Nagi,
What side dish do you recommend with this splendid pork belly recipe of yours? Hope to see your reply soon 🙂
You are the best Nagi!
I love all your recipes and the passion you enthuse then with 🥰🥰🥰
Hi Nagi I love your recipes… The attention to detail really helps… So I am making pork belly for the first time and it’s really nerve wracking… Working with an old oven with no broiler can I still get the same results? If yes what should be the temperature after removing the rock salt? In a lot of recipes foil is used to cover the sides of pork, does that help to maintain the moisture in pork? Thank you so much
If we don’t have rock salt how do we substitute table salt? Thanks in advance
Hi Taiga, note 7 will assist you here! Good luck!! N x
This is a superior pork belly recipe compared to others. The rock salt thing makes it hard to fail.
A-MA-ZING! Cut the cooked, hot pork belly into smaller pieces and used as the meat to make your bahn mi recipe. Slam dunk all round, thank you.
YUM!!! I’m drooling at the thought! N x
I sugest stap 4 and 5
It’s easier if you mixed the rock salt with the vinegar before you put it upon the skin
Hi Lashamana, you want the vinegar to go directly on the skin, mixing it with the rock salt will just dissolve it! Please don’t mix with the salt! N x
Hi Nagi – not sure if you’ll get a chance to see this before supper time this evening (4/4), but just in case you do – does the meat need to rest before you chop it? Most of the roast recipes that I read talk about a 15-20 minute resting time (which is when I usually finish off my roast veg 🙂 )
Thank you so much. Was so delicious. 1/1
Hi Nagi,
I have made this recipe many times before and it always works perfectly!! I have a dinner party coming up with 12 people so would need a bigger pork belly to feed them all. Will it still cook for 60 mins before broiling? Or is there an internal temp I need to aim for? Thank you for your help 🙂
Great recipe, very easy to do. You have to keep a close eye on it while broiling.
This was absolutely amazing. I only had it in the fridge for 4 hours, so next time I’ll do the 12 to see the difference. So very happy with this. I had small potatoes in jackets, broccolini and carrots as a side dish, but with a honey mustard sauce to go over it. Well done Recipetineats. This was delicious.
Love your recipes will try this one tomorrow. I actually cook the pork in oven then I use the air fryer to crisp the skin and it always turns out fabulous
What kind of rock salt do I use? Most rock salt isn’t for use with food.
The rock salt isn’t to be eaten with it, it’s just to draw moisture from the skin while it roasts for the first hour. Then you scrape all of the salt off and discard 🙂
Okay but it clearly says in rock salt containers that it is not for human consumption. Even if you don’t eat it directly, part of it still gets on the meat. It says that rock salt contains chemicals and minerals that can be toxic to humans. So safe to consume rock salt isn’t something that is easy to find. I’m having to use coarse kosher salt, and just picking out the larger pieces as we speak. Hopefully it doesn’t ruin it, though.
Morton sells a rock salt for ice cream makers. It’s edible for recipes as well. It’s sold on Amazon as Morton Ice Cream Salt.
Just purchased a AVANTI pork belly skin crisping tool and tenderiser – 21 Stainless Steel sharp spring loaded prongs. Easy to pierce the skin and won’t allow it to go all the way into the meat. Works and came up fantastic. Crackle was 10 out of 10
what is the longest i can marinate with the rock salt? i dont want to over salt. TIA
Hi Hien, the rock salt goes on before cooking – don’t marinate with the salt. N x
Loved it. Skin was perfectly crispy and crackling. Meat was juicy and tender. Thank you
Perfect Flo!! N x
Nagi, you’ve done it again. My “go to” website for great recipes, hints and tips.
On this occasion the tip about pricking the skin for crispy crackling… the best!!!!
I BBQed the pork belly in the Weber for 45 mins, then 30mins under the grill. Turned out great!
Many thanks.
Wahoo, I love hearing this Bill!! N x
Hi Nagi, I’ve used your recipe last year and it turned out great-thank you! However the skin was hard to pierce, and I have seen many recipes boil the skin for a while to help soften it so it’s much easier to prick. Have you ever tried this method? Thanks!
Hi Nagi, are you sure the nutrition info on the recipe is correct? I’ve plugged this recipe into MyFitnessPal and it comes up with very different amounts for Protein. When I compared to other Pork Belly the Protein is only around 9-10g per serve.