Pork Belly Recipes and Ideas » Sybaritica

In this article, we provide several terrific pork belly recipes, including one with tips on how to achieve the perfect crispy skin crackling loved by all. Following these, there are also examples of restaurant pork belly dishes, along with reviews, to help give you some further ideas and inspiration.

None of the Pork Belly Recipes provided here are particularly difficult, and none, except for the first couple, require long preparation times. Many of these are Asian dishes, but virtually all of the ingredients are easily sourced in most Asian grocery shops.

For years, I always had a hard time getting a nice crackling, or crispy skin, on my roast pork, but I eventually learned the method to achieve it perfectly every time. The process involves drying the pork skin for a day or two after the preliminary steps, but the results will be worth it. The finished dish is great eaten as a centerpiece roast with vegetable, but it is great to keep for use in any number of other pork belly recipes.

Print Recipe

1 Piece Pork Belly with skin attached (any size)
Salt, as needed
Chicken Bouillon Powder, as needed (optional)

Rinse and then pat dry your pork, then use a sharp knife to cut through the skin in strips or rectangles (as desired). Be sure to cut into the fat beneath, but not into the meat.
Rub the salt liberally over the whole slab of meat, ensuring you get some into the slashes you made with the knife.
Rub the remainder of the meat (NOT the skin) with the chicken bouillon powder, if using. This is a Chinese trick, and can add a little more umami flavor.
If desired, use tinfoil to wrap the bottom and sides of the roast while leaving the skin exposed. This is a good idea if you are using the chicken bouillon.
Now place the roast in a suitable pan and put it into the fridge to dry the skin. This may only take a day, but I usually go two days, and have even left it for as long as three. It will be ready when the skin appears very dry and is quite hard when tapped.
Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and roast your pork belly for 1 – 3 hours, depending on the thickness. Typically, the skin will be nicely browned and crispy at this point, but if it has still not done so, turn the heat up to 450 and finish off for another 30 minutes or so,
Remove the roast from the oven, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving, or cool completely if you will be using for other dishes.

Be sure to make sure that the surface of the skin does not have dips, dimples, or other concave areas where fat can pool, as the skin will not crisp in these places, In the picture for this recipe, you can see that the roast has a slight convex cure to it. This because I placed a wooden baton under the center of the roast to stop fat pooling. This method works with any cut of pork with the skin still attached, but you will have to adjust cooking times for the size.

Chinese Preserved Pork Belly, or 五花臘肉, has a lovely, apple-sweet flavor that is exquisite, and very much reminiscent of a good quality Italian Prosciutto, or Spanish Jamón Serrano. The one major difference between all of these products, however, is that Chinese product needs to be cooked before eating.

This Pork Belly Recipe yields an ingredient, rather than a meal, or snack by itself. It is sometimes steamed in whole pieces over rice so that the fat flavors the rice, but, generally, it is cut into small pieces and used as one of the protein components in more complex dishes. You can purchase it in many Chinese grocery shops, but it is dead easy to make yourself. The only special ingredient you will need is a commercial Curing Salt, like Prague Powder #2, or Saltpeter.

1 lb. Pork Belly
1 level tbsp. Salt
3 tbsp. Sugar
¼ cup boiling Water
3 tbsp. Shaoxing Wine substitute with Sherry or Brandy
2 tbsp. Light Soy Sauce
1/8 tsp. Curing Salt Prague Powder #2 or Saltpeter

In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar and salt in the boiling water and then add the Rice Wine, Soy Sauce, and the Curing Salt (Prague Powder #2 recommended).
Cut the Pork Belly into slices 2 -3 cm. thick.
Place the slices of pork belly into a plastic bag, or other suitable container and pour over the curing solution.
Refrigerate the pork for two days, turning as necessary to ensure all the pork comes into contact with the curing liquid.
After wet-curing, dry the slices and hang in a cool, dry place, ideally with a breeze or draft, and air-dry for a minimum of 4 days until the exterior is dried to leather-hard but still slightly flexible.
Store the cured product in the refrigerator until needed.

Four days is about the minimum time required for drying, but it can easily take up to a week, depending on humidity and temperature.

This pork belly recipe uses the Chinese style preserved pork belly whose recipe appears above. It adds a sweetness that plain pork belly does not have and it richly complements the umami flavor of the dried Scallops known as ‘Conpoy’. The main flavorings of the soup are developed in a good, hearty Chicken Stock, and rounded out with Ginger, Chinese Dried Black Mushroom (aka Shiitake), and Goji Berries.

You can really use almost any stock you like, or, if you prefer, you can also follow my recipe for a Basic Chinese Chicken Stock. As for the Conpoy, if you are not familiar with these, you may wish to have a look at my article on How to Prepare and Use Dried Scallops.

Print Recipe

3 – 4 cups good quality Chicken Stock;
1/4 lb. Preserved Pork Belly;
¼ cup tiny dried Scallop Conpoy;
1 small Shanghai Bok Choy;
1 Dried Shiitake Mushroom;
2 tbsp. Goji Berry;
¼ cup Shaoxing Wine.

Slice the pork belly thinly and chop the Bok Choy, keeping the white and green parts separate.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pot over moderate heat and sauté the ginger until it is just turning golden.
Add the pork belly and the white part of the Bok Choy until the latter is soft and the fat in the pork belly is opaque.
Add the conpoy, plus the stock, Shaoxing Wine, and the whole dried mushroom and simmer over moderate heat until the conpoy and pork belly are tender (about 45 minutes or so).
At this point, remove the ginger slices, slice the mushroom and return it back to the pot with the Goji Berry and the green parts of the Bok Choy. Continue to simmer gently until the berries are plump and the Bok Choy leaves are crisp tender but still nicely green.
Serve immediately or cool quickly and reheat for later service.

Vietnamese cuisine has two very popular pork dishes which are very similar. One is known as ‘Thịt kho tàu’, or ‘Caramelized Pork’ in English, and the other is just simply referred to as ‘Pork braised in Coconut Water’. In both of these dishes, Fish sauce and caramelized sugar syrup are essential to the basic flavor, but Thit Kho To is generally sweeter, may include hard-boiled eggs, and often doesn’t use Coconut Water at all. Naturally, that particular ingredient is an absolute requirement for today’s recipe.

Print Recipe

1 lb Pork Belly;
1 medium Onion sliced very thinly into half-rings;
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. Sugar;
6 tbsp. Fish Sauce
1 cup Coconut Water;
1 ½ tsp. Garlic Paste;
3 large Garlic cloves chopped coarsely;
1 pinch freshly ground Pepper;

Slice the Pork Belly into small chunks or strips, then blanch in salted boiling water for a minute or so until no pink remains. Rinse well in cold water to remove any scum or other residue.
Mix the pork pieces with the garlic paste, the extra 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce and the pepper, and marinate it in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
When ready to continue, brown the pork in a little oil over moderate heat. Remove it to a bowl for the moment and drain off all but a tablespoon or so of the fat from the pan.
Add the remaining sugar to the pan and stir in the oil until it melts and starts to darken.
Add the pork back to the pan along with the garlic and onion and stir until everything is coated with the caramelized sugar.
Add the fish sauce and continue stirring until the onion is softened and opaque.
Finally, add the coconut water and allow it to come to a low boil, Turn the heat down just a little and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the liquid has almost completely evaporated leaving a thick sauce.

The classic Chinese dish, Dong Po Pork, is named after the Chinese poet Su Dongpo, who, by all accounts, loved pork belly prepared this way. The dish is an example of the Chinese technique of ‘red-cooking’ (紅燒), meaning that the main ingredients are braised in a soy sauce based cooking medium. Here, as in the classic Dongpo Pork tradition, aromatics and sugar are added for sweetness, and the slow-cooking of the fatty pork belly makes for a result that is rich, unctuous, and absolutely delicious.

By the way, you will note that the cubes of pork belly in the above picture are tied with twine. The idea behind this is to keep the pieces from falling apart during long-cooking, but I find it is not really needed. The technique, however, does produce an attractive effect, and is something you might want to try if serving this pork belly recipe to guests.

Print Recipe Servings: 4 as part of a Chinese meal.

1 lb. Pork Belly;
3 -4 Scallions;
4 thick slices Ginger;
½ cup Soy Sauce;
½ cup Shaoxing Wine;
¼ cup Sugar;
1 dried Red Chili optional;
1 Star Anise optional;

Prepare the Pork Belly by pouring boiling water over it, then rinse well in cold water.
Cut the belly into 2-inch squares and, if desired, tie the cubes with twine.
Put the Scallion and Ginger at the bottom of a suitable pot and lay the Pork Belly over them, skin side down.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring the pot to a gentle boil over moderate heat.
Turn the heat to low and simmer for about two hours, or until the Pork, and the skin, is tender. Turn the Pork pieces over once or twice during cooking.
Once finished cooking remove the Pork to a warm dish, strain the liquid, and return it to the pot.
Turn the heat to high and reduce the sauce to a syrupy consistency.
Spoon the sauce over the Pork and serve.

This red-cooked’ (紅燒) pork belly recipe is somewhat similar to the one for Dong Po Pork given above, except that the braising medium is much more vigorously reduced and the aromatics used are more complex. It is said that Mao Xedong favored a dish very much like this, but I have replaced the traditional Cinnamon and Star Anise with Black Cardamom and Fennel Seed, and used a Chili Paste instead of the more common Dried Chilies. If you cannot find the Black Cardamom, don’t worry too much. There isn’t really a substitute, and the omission won’t ruin the dish. A small Cinnamon stick could be used, but this will have a different effect and the interesting smoky notes of the Black Cardamom won’t be replicated.

Print Recipe Servings: 4 as an appetizer

1/2 lb. Pork Belly with Skin
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Chili Paste
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Rice Wine
1 Tbsp. Fennel Seed
1 Black Cardamom Pod optional
2 slices Ginger
3 Strips Dried Orange Peel
1 Scallion green part only in 3″ sections
Instructions

Blanch the Pork Belly in boiling salted water for 4 – 5 minutes, then drain. When cooled, cut the Pork into largish bite-sized chunks.
Heat two Tablespoons of oil in the pan over moderate heat, then add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved and turned brown.
Add the Pork, and brown in the sugar-oil medium.
Add the Chili Paste followed by the Rice Wine and Soy Sauce, the Black Cardamom, Fennel Seed, Ginger, and the Dried Orange Peel.
Add water to cover, let it come almost to the boil and then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer.
When the Pork is fully cooked and the skin is soft, remove it, strain the braising medium, then return it to the pot, turn the heat to high and reduce the liquid until it is a syrupy consistency.
Add back the pork, and the Scallion greens. Cook until all is heated through and the onion is wilted. Serve hot.

This dish is a re-interpretation of the Dong Po Pork recipe given above. It is made keto-friendly for diabetics, or those wishing to limit carb intake, by replacing the large quantity of sugar with a spice blend typical of Western Chinese cookery,

Dried Galanga (a.k.a. Galangal) is called for here, and is a spice that is not widely used in China except in the Western regions. You can substitute fresh (although this is harder to source), and if you can’t find it, the dish won’t be ruined if it is omitted. Conpoy (or died scallops) are also used for richness, and, again, if you haven’t used these, have a look at my post on How to Prepare and Use Dried Scallops.

Print Recipe

1 lb Pork Belly slab with rind;
6 cloves Garlic peeled and slightly crushed;
3 large slices of fresh Ginger;
1 Tbsp. White Peppercorns;
2 pods Black Cardamom;
2 slices dried Galanga;
3 dried Red Chilli Peppers;
4 small dried Scallop Conpoy;
1/3 cup Soy;
1 ½ cups Water;
1 cup Rice Wine or Sherry;
4 Tbsp. Vinegar;
Cornstarch for thickening.

Trim the Pork-Belly slab and cut it into 2-inch squares, preserving the rind.
Put the Pork in a pot with all the ingredients except the cornstarch and add water to cover. Simmer at low heat for two hours or so until the pork rind is tender.
Remove the Pork from the pot and strain the braising medium, skimming off any excess fat.
Finally, restore the sauce to its original volume with water and reheat in a pot, thickening it, if desired, with a cornstarch slurry made with one tablespoon of starch for each cup of sauce.
Add the pork back into the sauce to reheat, then serve.

This pork belly recipe is an interesting and delicious variation on the Chinese classic Twice-Cooked Pork – 回鍋肉 technique, except that, rather than the meat being simply boiled with a few seasonings in the first cooking step, it is first ‘red-cooked’ in a Chinese Master sauce before being later sliced, then quick fried with Bamboo, Celery, and Chili Paste.

The actual recipe card below calls for previously prepared slab of ‘red-cooked’ pork belly. You can do this ahead of time using my Chinese Master Sauce recipe, or you could follow the Spicy Red-braised Pork Belly recipe above using a whole slab of belly, rather than one cut into smaller pieces.

Print Recipe Servings: 4 as part of a Chinese meal.

1/2 lb. Red-Cooked Pork Belly with Rind attached
1 cup Bamboo sliced Julienne
1 cup sliced Celery cut into 2-inch batons;
1 tbsp. Sugar
1 tbsp. Chili paste
¼ cup Shaoxing Wine

Slice the Pork into thin, postage-stamp sized pieces, then brown them in a little oil over moderate heat and remove from the pan for the moment.
Empty the pan of all but a tablespoon of fat, add the Celery followed by the Chili Paste, Sugar, and Shaoxing Wine, and sauté until the celery is softened and the sauce has thickened.
Finally, add in the Bamboo and Pork and fry until all is heated though.

When I fry slices of Pork Belly for, say, breakfast, I often cook more than I will eat for that meal. Generally, I partially bake the slices first, and drain off the nice, pure clear fat, for use in cooking other dishes. I then fry what I wish to eat immediately, and store the remainder for later meals. The dish shown above is one such use that is delicious and simple to make. The belly slices are cut into pieces, fried until crispy, then stir-fried with blanched Green Pepper chunks and White Onion, in a simple little glaze of Soy Sauce and Sugar.

Print Recipe Servings: 4 as part of a Chinese meal.

3-4 Thick slices of pre-cooked Pork Belly
1 small Green Pepper chopped into chunks.
½ small White Onion in small sections.
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp. Sugar.

Cut the Pork into bite sized sections and fry over moderate heat with a little oil until golden and crispy on the outside.
Drain off all but a Tablespoon or so of oil from the pan and add the Green Pepper and Onion.
Toss until the Onion just starts to become translucent, then add the Soy Sauce and Sugar.
Stir-fry until the Sauce is just a glaze and serve immediately.

The dish you see pictured above is prepared in the well-known Sichuan ‘Yu Xiang’ (魚香) style, which simply means that It incorporates the spicy heat of chili against an umami background of Sichuan Chili Bean Paste and sweet and sour notes.

The name ‘Yu Xiang’ is most accurately translated as ‘Fish fragrant’, but it has, in some unfortunate instances, and on some menus, been translated as ‘fish-smelling’ (as in ‘Fish Smelling Pork’) and, in one memorable but unfortunate translation, ‘Pork with Fish Odor’. The actual origin of the name and its relationship to the traditional ingredients is a fascinating one, and beyond the scope of this post, but for now just suffice it to say that no fish will be harmed in the preparation of this dish, nor will it smell or taste even vaguely fishy…

Print Recipe Servings: 4 as part of a Chinese meal.

Thick slices of Pork Belly cut into bite sized pieces about 1 ½ Cups
2 slices of fresh Pineapple cut to same size as the pork belly
1 small Red Bell Pepper chopped into irregular pieces
1 scallion chopped
1 tbsp. Garlic minced
1 tsp. Ginger minced
2 tbsp. Sugar
2 tbsp. Sichuan Chili Bean Paste (La douban jiang)
3 tbsp. Vinegar

Sear the Pineapple pieces in a pan over moderately high heat until just beginning to turn brown and remove them to a bowl.
Now sear the Pork pieces until browned and beginning to turn crispy at the edges pan, then remove to the same bowl as the Pineapple.
Add enough oil or fat to the pan to make three tablespoons, add the scallion, ginger and garlic, and stir-fry until they release their aroma and then add the Red Pepper.
Stir-fry until the Peppers begin to soften, then add the Sugar and the Chili Bean Paste.
Stir just a few seconds longer and then add back the pork, pineapple and then the vinegar.
Stir rapidly until the sauce is thickened and coats all the solid ingredients and then plate and serve.

This pork belly recipe would be an ideal candidate for using leftover Crispy Skin Pork Belly from the very first recipe (assuming you ever have any leftover, of course). You can use it diced, with or without the skin still attached.

Print Recipe Servings: 4 as part of a Chinese meal.

1/2 lb. Cold Roast Pork Belly in 1 cm dice;
1 cup diced Cucumber;
½ cup Cashews;
3-4 tbsp. Lee Kum Kee Brand Spicy Bean Paste *See Notes
3 tbsp. Rice Vinegar;
1 tsp. Sugar;

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan over moderately high heat and then sauté the Pork cubes until golden.
Spoon off any excess fat leaving a tablespoon or so along with the meat and dd the Cashews, followed by the Cumber.
Stir-fry briefly, then add the bean past, vinegar and sugar.
Allow the sauce to reduce to a thin glaze and then plate and serve immediately.

Lee Kum Kee™ Brand Spicy Bean Paste is readily available in Asian Grocery Stores, many Supermarkets, and on-line.

The following dishes were all served to me in various restaurants across Canada. The images and descriptions may provide you with ideas and inspiration for plating, or as staring points for your own recipes. The reviews should give you notion of things that work, and things that don’t.

The Pork Belly with Kumquat at Play, Food & Wine in Ottawa was very interesting, but had room for improvement. It is not easily apparent from the photograph, but the pork belly consisted of two thumb-sized pieces that were roasted, then placed on a bed of pureed parsnip and topped with a sauce made with kumquats. There were some snap peas included, as well as a garnish of mustard sprouts.

The Pork Belly was generally well cooked. The skin was nicely crispy, and the meat was juicy and succulent, but the seasoning was very light and the overall result was otherwise unremarkable. As for the bed of parsnip, I have to say that, while usually love parsnip, the puree didn’t do much for me. The sweet taste of fresh parsnip came through cleanly, but I didn’t like the consistency very much. It was a little too much like applesauce and something with a bit more texture would have suited me much more.

The Kumquats were an interesting idea, certainly, but ultimately, they were too overpowering. The fruit had collapsed into a thick chutney-like affair, and the overly sweet result, coupled with an orange-pith like citrus bite was a bit much for the pork. Something a bit less cloying sweetness might have worked, such as Cranberry and Apple, possibly, but the overall effect here, while interesting in conception, definitely needed tweaking. I gave it a Rating of 3 out of 5.

Pork Belly, until about 15 odd years ago, was a very under-appreciated and underused cut but which has since blossomed as a ‘foodie favorite’ such that any restaurant that aspires to fine dining is essentially required to include it in at least one dish. In a similar way, Balsamic Vinegar exploded onto the culinary scene about a decade or two ago, and went from relative obscurity to overhyped and undeserved culinary stardom.

The menu at the Sabor Restaurant in Edmonton described this dish is being ‘Braised Pork Belly in a Quince-Balsamic reduction. I cannot attest to the use of quince here as I couldn’t detect much on the way of fruity sweetness, but it was pretty clear that the drizzled dressing did contain one of the products that pass as Balsamic Vinegar. The effect was not bad, I suppose, but really nothing special.

As for the pork belly itself… it may have been braised briefly, but it appeared to have been finished quickly on a grill or griddle. The latter process was not long enough to lend it any nice charring or caramelization, and the ultimate result was pretty much the same as plain pan-frying, without the unctuously tender qualities you get when the cut is well prepared. The entire production, in short, was really just a glaring example of exploiting the cachet of certain foodstuffs and failing to deliver anything special at all. This only earned a Rating of 2 out of 5.

The Pork Belly Appetizer at the Press Gang Restaurant in Halifax turned out to be very nicely plated, and looked delicious, but the dish itself was a bit of a surprise. The menu specified ‘Braised Pork Belly’, but what I was served appeared almost certainly to have been roasted, or perhaps broiled given the crispy, golden skin. I wasn’t disappointed by this at all, but it was definitely not what I expected.

The Pork Belly was accompanied by a Pineapple Cilantro Salsa, a Chipotle Pepper Coulis and a crispy pickled Jalapeno. There wasn’t any Cilantro in the salsa that I could detect (which was not a problem as I don’t favor the herb), but there were some red flecks I took to be Chili Pepper and the taste was moderately spicy overall. The Coulis and the crisped Jalapeno slices were interesting enough but the pork belly itself really didn’t need much in the way of enhancement.

As for the Belly itself, the balance of meat to unctuously delicious fat was perfect. The skin was at the perfect degree of crispiness at first bite combined with a nice sticky, chewiness a few seconds later and the textural quality of this was complemented by the unctuous juiciness of the meat and fat. I thought this was one of the best pork belly dishes I have ever been served, and I gave it a Rating of 5 out of 5.

The Pork Belly Appetizer at the Play, Food & Wine Restaurant in Ottawa was described on the menu as being accompanied by Kimchi, Sweet Potato and Candied Pecan. To break this dish down, the Sweet Potato was a smear of puree acting as a base, while the Kimchi was arranged in three discreet islands, against which a small piece of Pork Belly was placed. The Candied Pecan was crushed quite finely and scattered overall as a sort of dusting, with concentrations around the Kimchi and Pork Belly mounds.

The smear of pureed Sweet Potato worked quite nicely in terms of visual appeal but, beyond that, it was so bland as to be effectively tasteless. The Cabbage Kimchi was paired with Chives and Red Chili Flakes, but the form was clearly a vinegar based ‘quick-pickle’ rather than being fermented. It was nice enough though, and the acidity added a pleasant tart counterpoint to the rich fattiness of the Pork. The Candied Pecan was pleasant in terms of taste and added some texture, but I am really not sure why they were described as ‘candied’. They rather seemed to be just crushed ordinary pecans to me.

As for the Pork Belly, this was a bit of a let down. Quite honestly, it really just tasted like the sort of pan-fried Pork Belly slices I often have with breakfast and there was really nothing special about it. Perhaps some sort of glaze may have helped, but, as it was, this dish was really mediocre and only earned a Rating of 3 out of 5.

This particular appetizer appeared on the menu at Harmony Restaurant under its traditional Chinese name 蒜泥白肉 (suàn ní báiròu), which basically means ‘Garlic Sauce White Meat’. The word ‘meat’ when not further identified is understood in Chinese to mean pork, while the ‘white’ signifies that the meat (almost exclusively pork belly in this classic dish), was simply poached with a few seasonings, and no ingredients, such as soy sauce that might change the color.

The Garlic-Sauce White Pork (蒜泥白肉) at Harmony was quite generous with the pork and, somewhat unusually, it was served on a bed of slivered cucumber. The sauce, unfortunately, was basically just a lightly-sweetened soy with just a dash of vinegar, and the garlic consisted of just some coarsely sliced pieces scattered over top of the pork with the sauce largely lying underneath. Really, this fell short of the usual garlicky sauce and was very nearly bland.

The pork was very thinly sliced in way it is most commonly served, but it was very fatty indeed. Now, I say this not to criticize, because that is the way many people will enjoy this dish the most, but for my own personal taste, too much fat in a cold presentation can be a bit greasy and unpleasant. Perhaps, if the sauce had been a little more interesting, say with more of a Sichuanese character, I might have enjoyed it more, but the fatty meat in a bland sauce left me a bit underwhelmed and I only gave this particular rendition a Rating of 3 out of 5.