Name: CRISPY PORK BELLY
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 kg pork belly, skin on (you gotta brine your meat; check the link at the bottom of the recipe on how to do that); 1.50 tbsp Chinese cooking wine; ½ tbsp dark soy sauce; 1 tsp garlic, crushed; ½ tsp ginger, grated; 1 tsp orange zest; 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder; 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (Sichuan chilli flakes); 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar; 200 g rock salt; 1 tsp sesame oil; ¼ cup rice wine vinegar; 1 tbsp dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp honey; 1 tbsp ccallions, thinly sliced; 1 tsp sesame seeds

Better than sex. Sometimes.

Yields4 Servings

Prep Time30 minsCook Time1 hr 20 minsTotal Time22 hrs

HERE’S WTF YOU NEED:

1 kg pork belly, skin on (you gotta brine your meat; check the link at the bottom of the recipe on how to do that)

MARINADE, HERE'S WTF YOU NEED:

1.50 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

½ tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp garlic, crushed

½ tsp ginger, grated

1 tsp orange zest

1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (Sichuan chilli flakes)

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

200 g rock salt

1 tsp sesame oil

DIPPING SAUCE, HERE'S WTF YOU NEED:

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp ccallions, thinly sliced

1 tsp sesame seeds

HERE'S WTF YOU DO:

So you've washed, brined and dried your pork belly by now. Using anything sharp, a knife, ice pick, skewer, prick tons of holes into just the surface of the piggy skin. Or just a fuck load of tiny slits, being very careful not to pierce into the flesh.
Ensure your belly is completely dry, turn it upside down and cut slices 3/4th of the way through the flesh. This will help it marinate evenly and cut easier after cooking. Also, only marinate just the flesh, not the skin.

The reason we’re trying to keep the skin as dry as possible is because in order for us to get that fuckin delicious crispy skin, we need it to be void of any moisture. Got it you dumbfuck?!

Alright, so rub the flesh with the cooking wine, soy, crushed garlic and ginger, orange zest, sprinkling the five-spice powder and crushed chilli pepper flakes. Store it in a container to marinate for 6 to 10 hours in the fridge. You got to be a peeping tom here, dabbing the skin dry with a paper towel every time you see moisture.

When you’re ready to cook it, pre-heat your oven to 350°F (really hot.) Remove the pork from the fridge and place in a baking tray on a large sheet of foil, folding up the sides of the foil to create a snug little box, keeping a 1.5 cm edge over the skin. Once again, completely dry the skin. Once completely dry, sprinkle the salt evenly all over. Do not rub or massage it in, just cover.

Roast this in the oven for 60 minutes, then remove from oven and discard the foil, also making sure to scrape of all the salt.

Brush the pork skin with sesame oil and change the oven setting to broiler, returning the pork at the center level (we don’t want the skin too close to the heat), cook for 20-30 minutes until skin is crispy, golden and puffed. Let the cooked pork sit for 10 minutes, making the dipping sauce meanwhile. Whisk together the liquid ingredients, pour into a bowl, top with the scallions and sesame seeds.

Slice the belly into bite-sized slices. We like to serve this with the dipping sauce as a starter. But you can dig in directly too, while it’s still hot.

Now stuff that in your fucking face!

Ingredients