04 March 2015

Chinese Roasted Pork Belly (Siu Yuk 脆皮烧肉)


Recently many things happened and my mind was too occupied to come back to this space doing what I love to do...writing my blog. 

God has a plan in everything, His priority never change... every times when I think of this issue, I felt so touch by how faithful God answer our prayers, this time is so tangible. He came and handled the incident for me, now I'm happy that I no longer holding grudge against the people involved in the incident. 

First time making Roasted Pork Belly in such a big bulk, 3 kg! It was for the second day of Chinese New Year gathering. I was so happy that the roasted pork belly turned out with a crispy crackling skin, the meat was tender and juicy! I'm using the recipe method that use the coarse sea salt to cover the skin at the first stage of roasting.







Roasted Pork Belly after baking for 45 mins with rock salt on top.




Ingredients:
3 kg pork belly, wash the meat and pat dry, cut into manageable strips (I divided it into six strips)
3 tbsp Coarse sea salt
2 tbsp Sugar
6 tbsp Five spice powder 
3 pieces of red fermented bean curd
a dash of peppers
more rock/coarse sea salt

Prepare marinade: Mix 3 tbsp coarse sea salt, sugar, five spice powder, red fermented bean curd, and peppers in a bowl.

Method:
1. Score the flesh part (not the skin) of the pork belly lightly in diagonal lines and rub in the marinade on the flesh.

2. Place the marinated side down on a container so it can sit and absorb the flavors.  
3. Use a meat skewer poke repeatedly on the skin( this has to be done properly), then rub more salt on the skin only. Dry the skin using kitchen tissue.
4. Marinate the pork belly uncovered overnight in the fridge so that the skin will dry completely. 
5. When ready to roast, pat dry any moisture left on the skin. Let the meat sit inside the aluminium foil as shown in the photos above and cover the skin with a layer of coarse sea salt. Place pork belly in the middle of the oven. 
6. Bake in preheated oven at 210C for 45 mins. Then remove the pork belly from the oven, remove the coarse sea salt layer from the skin. Use the meat skewer poke more holes on the skin, place the pork belly on the roasting rack with a tray below to catch the dripping oil. Bake at 210C for another 20~25 mins. Bubbles will appear on skin, control the roasting time so the meat will not over char. The pork belly will be with nice golden brown crispy skin.
7. Once cooked, remove pork from oven and leave to rest for 10 mins before chopping the pork belly into bite size.