Here are some popular methods and steps to cook pork belly:
- Crispy Pork Belly (Oven roasted with crispy skin):
- Pat skin dry and poke holes on the skin without piercing the meat.
- Make cuts on the meat side and spread a paste made with salt, white pepper, five spice powder, sugar and Shaoxing wine on the meat.
- Let the pork dry uncovered in the fridge for 24-48 hours.
- Brush skin with vinegar and a salt/egg white mixture.
- Roast at 300°F for 30 minutes, then remove salt.
- Increase oven to 450°F for 30-45 minutes until the skin crisps and puffs.
- Optionally broil to blister skin for extra crispiness.
- Pan-fried Crispy Pork Belly:
- Remove skin if desired and soak pork belly in water for 30 minutes.
- Boil pork belly with ginger, scallion, and Sichuan peppercorn until water evaporates.
- Fry pork belly in pan repeatedly until both sides are crispy and browned.
- Serve with lettuce wrap or spice mix.
- Slow-Roasted Pork Belly:
- Dry skin preferably overnight uncovered in fridge.
- Oil and season meat and skin, wrap meat side with foil.
- Roast slow at 285°F for 2.5 hours until tender.
- Position pork so skin is horizontal for even crackling.
- Blast at 465°F for 30 minutes at the end for bubbly crackling.
- Sticky Chinese Pork Belly:
- Simmer pork belly slices in stock with ginger, garlic, rice wine and sugar for 2 hours.
- Dry and chop pork.
- Fry pork in oil then toss with a glaze made of honey, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, chili and lemongrass paste until sticky and caramelized.
- Thai-style Crispy Pork Belly:
- Cut pork into pieces and marinate with fish sauce, sugar, and pepper.
- Toss in flour and fry twice in hot oil until crispy and golden.
Each method varies in preparation, cooking time, and final texture from crispy to tender and sticky. The oven-roasted crispy skin method is the most classic way to cook pork belly with crackling. Pan-frying and Thai-style involve twice frying for crispiness while slow-roasting focuses on tender meat with crispy skin at the end. The sticky pork belly is a flavorful Chinese-style braised and glazed dish.
Would you like a detailed recipe for one specific style or a general guide?
