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Chinese roast pork or siu yuk. Save yourself a trip to Chinatown and use this easy recipe for the best and crispiest Chinese roast pork belly at home.
Chinese Roast Pork Recipe
In my cookbook “Easy Chinese Recipes,” I have a Chinese roast pork belly recipe, or siu yuk.
When it comes to Chinese roast pork, one could never have enough of the crispy skinned roasted pork belly. It’s sinfully delicious!
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.
This is the PERFECT recipe for Chinese roast pork belly! It’s absolutely mouthwatering.
The recipe is easy, hassle-free and fail-proof. I guarantee you crispy, crunchy, absolutely aromatic and to-die-for pork crackling, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is the easiest and best recipe you’ll find online. There is no need to poke the pork skin, there is no no vinegar in the recipe.
There is also no need to par-boil the pork belly before roasting.
The end result is very crispy pork crackling. The pork belly is also juicy, tender, with the melt-in-your-mouth pork fat.
The taste is a bit salty and aromatic. The aroma comes from the garlic and five-spice powder.
Ingredients
- Pork belly
- Five spice powder
- Garlic
- Kosher salt
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), 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.
Step 2: Wash and use paper towels to dry the pork belly.
Step 3: Make some horizontal slits on the sides of the belly, then rub the meat side with the five spice powder.
Step 4: Insert each garlic and push them deep inside the pork belly.
Step 5: Layer the top of the pork belly with the salt evenly.
Step 6: Place the pork belly on a wire rack. This is how it should look before going into the oven.
Step 7: Place the pork belly at the top 1/3 of the oven and roast for 1 hour. While baking, the oil will drip to the bottom pan with water.
Step 8: Bake until the salt crust forms, the salt should be hardened. Check water in the pan below and add if needed. This is how the pork belly and salt crust will look like 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.
Step 9: Remove the pork belly from the oven, pull off the salt crust and discard.
Step 10: Raise the heat of oven to 465°F (240°C), place the pork belly back in the oven and roast for another 40 minutes.
Step 11: Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes.
Step 12: Cut and serve immediately with some chili sauce and hoisin sauce, or eat as is.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 446 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Serve this dish with rice or noodles. For a Chinese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
- Air Fryer Pork Belly (Siu Yuk)
- Char Siu
- Chinese BBQ Pork
- Braised Pork Belly (Dongpo Rou)
- Braised Pork Belly in Soy Sauce
Chinese Roast Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork belly
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon five spice powder
- Kosher salt, for layering
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), 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.
- Wash and use paper towels to dry the pork belly.
- Make some horizontal slits on the sides of the belly, then rub the meat side with the five spice powder.
- Insert each garlic and push them deep inside the pork belly.
- Layer the top of the pork belly with the salt evenly.
- Place the pork belly on a wire rack. This is how it should look before going into the oven.
- Place the pork belly at the top 1/3 of the oven and roast for 1 hour. While baking, the oil will drip to the bottom pan with water.
- Bake until the salt crust forms, the salt should be hardened. Check water in the pan below and add if needed. This is how the pork belly and salt crust will look like 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.
- Remove the pork belly from the oven, pull off the salt crust and discard.
- Raise the heat of oven to 465°F (240°C), place the pork belly back in the oven and roast for another 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes.
- Cut and serve immediately with some chili sauce and hoisin sauce, or eat as is.
Video
Notes
- Bake until the salt crust forms, the salt should be hardened.
- Check water in the pan below and add if needed.
- You have to insert the garlic deep inside the horizontal slits or else they will be pushed out during the roasting process.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is so easy and delicious! I followed the recipe, and it was perfect. Crispy, salty, and melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Hi NG, thanks for trying my recipe and for the 5-star rating! :)
It is easier and a faster recipe compared to. most. The skin though is still hard , not as crispy. Wonder where I went wrong.
Hi Winnie, I have tried this recipe many times and it works. Did you pat dry the surface of the skin? Did you do the salt crust?
No more pricking, so glad to have this easy recipe! Made for and devoured on Chinese New Year. I sliced the garlic cloves in half from top to bottom, making them flatter. They actually almost melted into the pork, like having roasted garlic cloves in some pieces. Outstanding!
Hi Marissa, thanks for trying my recipe and gave me 5 stars rating. Thanks!
Hi Bee, I first discovered this recipe during the covid-19 lockdown in Malaysia and tried it out. It was so easy to make and I’m not by any means a good cook (just basic cooking skills). Thank you so much for this, I’ve made this more than 20 times since then and every time it comes out really nice! Amazing stuff!
Hi Yap thanks for trying my recipe and thanks for the 5 stars rating. Please try more recipes on my site! :)
I want to use the air fryer, what is the temperature and timer setting?
Hi Antonio, I am sorry but I cannot give you the exact time and temp because I never tried it myself.
Hi there,
I bought pork belly from the supermarket and it comes with the skin/fat already scored with knife slits.
Can I still follow still recipe or do I need to make adjustments and what do I need to do?
Thank you,
That’s fine, you should be able to make this recipe.
Hi, can I cook the first hour then pause for an hour (leave the house) and finish the remaining 40minutes when I come back?
Hi Ella. Technically, you could. However, there could be excess moisture around the pork after a cooling down, so do remove any moisture using paper towels before proceeding to the final roasting.
Thanks for all the delicious recipes you posted in Rasa MALAYSIA. I normally saw the procedure to pierce the skin layer of the pork from some recipes posted. Do you think whether it’s necessary to do that in order to get a good result ? I always failed to get the crispy skin. Thanks.
Hi Swee Choo. Some chefs use the piercing method, but I find that it’s not necessary. Do give this recipe a try. Thank you for your support!