Roast Salted Pork Belly Recipe

Roast Salted Pork Belly Recipe

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 1-3 days, and 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Pork and marinade:
2 pounds pork belly, boneless, skin on
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon five-spice powder
1 tablespoon black pepper powder
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns powder

Dipping sauce:
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Instruction:

To prepare the pork belly, use a fork to pierce all over the pork. (Traditionally, salted pork needs to be marinated for 3 to 5 days, depending on the thickness of the pork. By doing so, we can shorten the marinating time to 1 to 3 days. It also tenderizes the pork.)

To make the marinade, in a bowl, add the garlic, salt, rice wine, five-spice powder, black pepper powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder. (If you like, you could lightly roast the spices beforehand for additional aromas.) Mix well.

Rub the marinade all over the pork. Give it a good massage. (You could also add other spices based on your personal preference.)

Place everything in a Ziploc bag. Marinate it in the fridge for 1 to 3 days, depending on the thickness of the pork.

Remove the marinated pork from the fridge. And let it stays at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Scrape some seasoning off the pork, so it won’t be overly salty. (You can cook salted pork however you like, anything from stir-frying, steaming, grilling, or baking. We are going to roast it in the oven today.)

Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil (for easier cleanup).

Place the pork on the roasting rack. (The roasting rack is optional. If you use it, the pork will be crispier on the outside. If you don’t use it, the pork belly will be more moist and tender. It depends on which style you like better.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and position a baking rack in the middle of the oven.

Transfer the roasting pan to the middle rack of the oven and roast for 40 minutes under to 400 degrees F.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Flip the pork. Return the roasting pan to the middle rack of the oven and roast for another 40 minutes.

While we wait, let’s make some dipping sauce. Transfer the garlic into a bowl, and add the rice vinegar and sugar. Mix well.

Take out the pork. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing it into bite-size pieces to serve. Enjoy