Sio Bak 烧肉 (CRISPY ROASTED PORK BELLY)

SIO BAK 烧肉 (CRISPY ROASTED PORK BELLY)

Ingredients

• 2 tsp five-spice powder
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp chinese wine
• 1 tbsp salt (sea salt if you have if not normal salt will do)

Steps

1. Blanch pork belly in boiling water for 5 minutes.
   

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2. Once done, transfer the pork to a bowl of ice cold water and let it rest for 2 minutes.
   

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3. Place the pork on a plate/chopping board with the skin side facing up.
   

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4. Use a knife to scrap the impurities away from the pork’s skin.
   

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5. Find a sharp tool in your kitchen, it can be a skewer stick, needles, small knife and poke holes gently on the skin. (Try to poke many holes as this helps with the crackling later on, but do not poke too deep, just on the surface only!)
   

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6. Flip the pork over with the meat side facing up, pour the chinese wine over and “massage” the pork.
   

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7. Next sprinkle the five-spice powder, sugar and salt over the meat and marinate it with your hands. (remember to NOT touch the skin, we want to leave that part alone with no seasonings).
   

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8. Prepare a rectangle sheet of aluminium foil that is 1.5x bigger than your pork.
   

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9. Place the pork on the aluminium foil with the skin side facing up and fold it into a “container style”. Watch the youtube video above to see the steps if you are not sure how it’s suppose to look like.
   

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10. Using a paper towel, wipe dry the excess moisture on the skin and if there’s any seasonings that have accidentally spilled on it.
    

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11. Pour 1 tbsp salt on the skin and use your hands to rub it in.
    

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12. Leave the pork belly in the fridge overnight (uncovered) or minimum 2hr.
    

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13. Once ready, use a paper towel to remove the excess salt and brush some vinegar on the skin.
    

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14. Remove the pork from the aluminium foil and place it directly on the oven grill tray with the skin side facing up. (remember to have a drip tray below)
    

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15. Roast it at 200°C for 30-45 minutes till you see the skin becomes crispy and the meat is cooked well.
    

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16.  Once cooked, leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes before chopping up as the skin might crack into small pieces if you cut when it’s right out of the oven.