In my cookbook “Easy Chinese Recipes,” I have a Chinese roast pork belly recipe, or siu yuk.
On Rasa Malaysia, I also have a crispy pork belly recipe, contributed by my dear friends at Eat A Duck I Must.
Both recipes are great and excellent, but when it comes to Chinese Roast Pork, one could never have enough recipes.
There is always that one PERFECT recipe that everyone is constantly looking for—easy, hassle-free, everyone-can-do-it kind of recipe that promises crispy, crunchy, absolutely aromatic and to-die-for pork crackling, melt-in-your-mouth Chinese roasted pork belly….ahhh, the thought of it sets my mouth watering.
This Chinese Roast Pork recipe is from my good friend Robert Danhi’s Facebook page. Robert and his wife made the roast pork following a recipe gathered from a church in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I had personally tried their creation during an event last year, so I decided to attempt it on my own.
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I have to say that this Chinese Roast Pork recipe is probably one of the easiest recipes around. There is no need to poke the pork skin, no vinegar, no pre-boiling the pork belly.
Just very simple and only few steps are involved and the result is almost guaranteed and fail-proof. I am all about easy recipes that makes Asian food accessible in any kitchen, and I strongly urge you to try this Chinese Roast Pork recipe.
The end result, as you can see, is very crispy pork crackling. The pork belly is juicy and tender, with the melt-in-your-mouth pork fat, and the taste is a bit salty, aromatic (from the garlic and 5-spice powder).
It’s delicious!! If you don’t believe it, browse through my photos as the images speak louder than words.
Enjoy!
To make this recipe a lot more accessible, check out the following video. Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel for future videos.
How Many Calories Per Serving?
This recipe is only 185 calories per serving.
Pairs well with:
Crispy Roasted Pork Belly Recipe
Easy Chinese Roast Pork Recipe that is better than Chinatown and you can make it at home.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork belly
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon five spice powder
- 1 cup salt
Directions
- 1
To make this recipe a lot more accessible, check out the following video. Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel for future videos.
- 2
Preheat the oven to 350F/180c, arrange a pan on the bottom 1/3 of oven rack and fill with water. The pork belly should be roasted using the rack above it.
- 3
Wash and use paper towels to dry the pork belly.
- 4
Make some horizontal slits on the sides of the belly, then insert each garlic and push them deep in so they don't burn.
- 5
Rub the meat side with the five spice powder.
- 6
Then layer the top of the pork belly with the salt evenly.
- 7
Place the pork belly on a wire rack, and place at the top 1/3 of the oven for 1 hour. While baking, the oil will drip to the bottom pan with water.
- 8
Bake until the salt crust forms, the salt should be hardened. Check water in the pan below and add if needed.
- 9
Remove the pork belly from the oven, pull off the salt crust and discard.
- 10
Raise the heat of oven to 465f/240c, place the pork belly back in and roast for another 40 minutes.
- 11
10. Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes. Cut and serve immediately with some chili sauce and hoisin sauce, or eat as is.
Recipe Notes
Place the pork belly on a wire rack. This is how the pork belly and salt crust look in the oven. You have to insert the garlic deep inside the horizontal slits or else they will be pushed out during the roasting process.
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Antony Cruz
Thank you for the recipe. I tried this but the skin got very salty and hard. Is it supposed to be hard and salty? Or have i done something wrong?
Ps: my oven has maximum temp of 200c. So i put the pork back after removing the salt at 200c on a higher rack. Also, what could i do to get the meat more tender?
Rasa Malaysia
If the skin is too salty, the salt wasn’t properly removed. The salt should form a crust that can be easily removed. The meat is tender with crispy skin with my oven, maybe you can try covering with foil.
Felix
Hi,
Excellent recipe, i am going try out this weekend.
Like to know, for the oven setting for the first 40 minutes and the second 30 minutes, do you use Fan bake plus broiler setting for both? Or should i just use fan bake?
Thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Felix, I don’t have any of the settings you mentioned. Just regular baking, no broiler for sure.
Ad
Thank you so much for the recipe. This is so yummy and easy to prepare. Taste just like back home. Just keep on eye on the water if you have a shallow tray like mine. Everyone loves it and we even save some to add it to our fried rice the following day.
Rasa Malaysia
Fried rice with roast pork, sounds delicious!
PaperCrane
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I cooked for the first hour at 325F, and topped up my water bath periodically. It turned out moist and flavourful.
Rasa Malaysia
Awesome, so happy you tried my Chinese roast pork. Please try out more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/