Chinese Crispy Pork SERVES : 4 | PREPARATION TIME 10 MINUTES + 3 HOURS MARINATING OR OVERNIGHT | COOKING TIME 1 HOUR 10 MINUTES 

Pork belly is the cheapest pork roasting joint, it’s rich, and a little goes a long way. Perfect for Sundays and dinner parties. The longer you marinate the meat, the better. 

Using a paper towel, pat the skin of pork belly until it is completely dry. Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl and then pour into a rectangular pan that is big enough to hold the pork belly. Place pork belly into the container, making sure only the meat touches the marinade and the skin stays completely dry. If the marinade level is too high you can pour some of it out. Place in fridge for several hours or overnight. 

 

Preheat oven to 350F. Completely line a roasting pan with foil (this will make clean-up much easier). Pour 1 inch of water into the bottom of the pan. Place a wire rack on top of roasting pan to hold the pork belly. Place the pork belly on the wire rack. The pork belly will cook above the water, with the pork drippings dripping down below into the water. Make sure the pork belly is level (if one part is lower/shorter the skin will not cook evenly. if you have to, use something oven-safe to prop up a shorter part to keep it completely level). Spread 1 cup of salt evenly across the pork belly skin. Place into the top half of the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes until meat looks cooked. 

 

Remove pork belly and increase oven temperature to 465F. The salt should have formed a crust which you should now remove. Once the oven has reached desired temperature, place pork belly back into the oven. Bake for another 30 minutes until skin is completely bubbly and crisp. 

 

Let pork belly cool a few minutes before cutting and serving.