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a slice of golden, crispy, Chinese style pork belly

Homemade Crispy Pork Belly With Perfectly Crackling Skin

This homemade crispy pork belly recipe will show you how to make such perfectly crackling skin of a roast pork belly with a secret step.
4.67 from 12 votes
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Marinating: 12 hours
Total Time: 14 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 1 pork belly
Calories per serving: 5964kcal
Author: Tu

Ingredients 

  • 1 - 1.5 lb pork belly skin on
  • ¼ c rice cooking wine
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 - 1.5 c water

For marinating

For roasting

  • 3 tbsp rock salt
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar

Instructions

Prick pork belly skin

  • Rub and clean pork belly with rice cooking wine, then pat dry with a paper towel.
    1 - 1.5 lb pork belly, ¼ c rice cooking wine
  • Use a meat tenderizer, regular fork, or a steak knife to prick the skin. Remember to spend as much time as possible in this step.
  • The more holes the skin has, the crispier & puffier it will become after roasting because these holes will aid in releasing moisture during the cooking process, which helps to make puffy skin.
  • Also, pay attention to the edge of the skin and carefully prick that area. Don't skip any part of the skin. And avoid piercing too deep into a fatty part underneath the skin. Only prick the skin's surface.
  • This step can take somewhere from 15 to 20 minutes to finish.

Secret step

  • In a large cooking pan, pour 1 to 1.5 cups of water and bring to boil (just enough to cover the skin area of the pork belly).
    1 - 1.5 c water
  • Then quickly blanch the skin for 2-3 minutes; it depends on how thick it is (put belly in the pan with skin side down).
  • Take the pork belly out of hot boiling water and place it on a clean, flat surface. Skin side up. Check and prick more holes if needed. The skin is softer now, so it's very easy to break the skin if it is pricked too hard. So be gentle.
  • Remember, the more holes are evenly added on the surface, the easiest the skin will become crispy.

Marinating & resting process

  • Apply a thin layer of white vinegar on the skin’s surface using a pastry brush.
    1 tbsp white vinegar
  • In a small mixing bowl, mix salt and five spice powder together.
  • Lightly dab salt mixture on all the sides, except the skin side, of the pork belly.
    1 tsp Kosher salt, ¼ tsp five spice powder
  • Let the pork belly marinade and dry in the fridge, uncover, skin side up for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.

Roasting process

  • Pre heat oven to 350F.
  • Use aluminum foil to make a small rectangle pan so the pork belly can fit. Or you can use any rectangle baking pan. The purpose is that the aluminum pan can catch any juice or rock salt felt out during the roasting process. Furthermore, you can easily discard it afterward, with no extra cleaning.
  • Spread a thin layer of white vinegar on the skin using a pastry brush.
    1 tbsp white vinegar
  • Add a layer of rock salt on top of the pork belly.
    3 tbsp rock salt
  • If the pork belly stays uneven, you can use extra pieces of aluminum foil and put them underneath the meat to level the surface.
  • Put the pork belly on the middle rack in the oven and roast for 30-35 minutes. Remember to rotate it halfway through the process.
  • After that, take the pork belly out of the oven, scrape away, and discard the rock salt with the aluminum foil.
  • Please note that the skin is not supposed to be crackling or puffy at this time.

Make crackling skin

  • Turn the oven's heat to 370F and switch from roasting to grilling/broiling.
  • Transfer pork belly to a clean baking pan lined with parchment paper.
  • Put the pork belly on the highest rack in the oven and cook until the skin is entirely puffy. Approximately 8-10 minutes.
  • When the pork belly is done cooking, take it out and let it rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before proceeding to the slicing process.
  • Use a sharp knife (I prefer a Chinese clever) and slice the pork belly into bite-size slices. Serve hot immediately.

Notes

Sea FAQs below for more information.

Nutrition

Calories: 5964kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 106gFat: 601gSaturated Fat: 219gPolyunsaturated Fat: 64gMonounsaturated Fat: 280gCholesterol: 816mgSodium: 23649mgPotassium: 2133mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.02gVitamin A: 117IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 100mgIron: 7mg