This recipe has been updated and made more complete. You can find it on the blog at The Ultimate Guide to Perfect Siu Yuk.
If you can’t already tell, I’m a sucker for shao rou/siu yok (燒肉), that’s Chinese Roast Pork Belly. It’s the holy grail of pork belly dishes, in my books at least. So move aside, Sunday roasts and Italian porchettas, this glorious Chinese pork belly takes the cake everytime.
The crackling on a piece of pork belly might not look like it would be hard to get just right. After all, you can find perfectly good shao rou at most neighbourhood Chinese coffee shop in Malaysia. While those coffee shop uncles and aunties may have perfected their recipes, for a (Chinese) home cook, making a great shao rou is the ultimate goal. If you succeed, your friends and family will always remember you as the great home cook they know (and secretly want to be); if you fail, you’d rather cancel that dinner party you worked so hard on than have people look at your terrible shao rou.
My mom is lucky to be in the first group, but it took her a while to find a shao rou recipe that always works. After a lot of failed attempts (some with skin that was soaked in vinegar and others that had been pricked to death), she finally found this foolproof method that doesn’t make sense but always works like a charm. It saves you the trouble of scoring or poking holes in the skin, which, despite what most people think, doesn’t always lead to crispy skin. Here’s the secret:
It’s important to season meat before cooking, whether you use a dry rub, a brine, or something else. Usually when seasoning, we’d season all sides of the meat evenly. But in this case, we want to reduce the amount of moisture on the skin because that makes it harder for the skin to crisp up. So, seasoning the skin doesn’t help. It’s possible for a dry rub to pull moisture to the skin’s surface, which you’ll then need to dry.
If you only want to season the meat part of the belly, use a dry rub or pasty marinade and leave it in the fridge overnight uncovered. This will help dry out the skin while the rest of the belly is being seasoned. For a unique Canto-hawker shao rou taste, use a five-spice and lam yee (fermented bean curd) paste-rub.
This next step might sound a little strange, but it’s the crux of this whole recipe. You have to cover the skin of your pork belly with a thick layer of salt, making sure that every inch of that clean skin is covered in salt. Then you have to roast the pork belly whole. Putting this salt-covered belly in the oven to roast will pull more water out of the skin and make a hard salt crust that is then taken off.
For some reason this seems to work flawlessly each time. I’d like to know what happens in the skin that makes this salt crust method work so well, but it was hard to find good research on it, so for now I’ll just call it kitchen fairy magic. Perhaps one day when I’m feeling more science-y, I’ll Kenji my way to an explanation.
The last step is to roast the belly over heat that is way too high. This will make the skin really crisp up and bubble and pop. Now is the kind of time when you want to sit in front of the oven and endure the heat just to watch it all happen.
500 grams of pork belly—look for ones with a good layer of fat—2 tablespoons of lam yee (fermented bean curd) 15 grams of five spice powder 5 grams of pepper lots of salt
Pork belly is a flavorful and versatile cut used in many cuisines However, it does require some special handling and cleaning before cooking Raw pork can harbor bacteria and parasites, so properly preparing pork belly is key for food safety.
Below you’ll learn different methods for cleaning and preparing fresh or cured pork belly to remove any impurities. With these simple techniques, you can enjoy delicious pork belly while avoiding the risks of contaminated meat.
Why It’s Important to Clean Pork Belly
Pork belly is often sold with the skin on, The skin holds a lot of impurities that need to be removed before cooking
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Hair: Pigs have rough hairs on their skin that burn off but may stay in some places.
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Dirt: During the killing and processing of pork, the skin can pick up dirt, mud, and other particles.
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Bacteria – Raw pork can contain Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and other pathogens on the surface.
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Curing agents and salt: cured pork belly has a lot of salt or nitrites that need to be cut down.
Thoroughly cleaning pork belly removes these contaminants which can negatively affect the flavor and texture of the meat. More importantly, it eliminates bacteria that can cause severe foodborne illness if the pork is undercooked.
How to Clean Fresh Pork Belly
Fresh pork belly sold without curing or smoking just needs a quick clean before cooking. Here’s how:
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Place the pork belly skin-side up on a cutting board and rub all over with paper towels to remove any blood, juices or debris on the surface.
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Use a sharp knife to lightly scrape the skin and remove any dark hairs or dirt embedded in the skin.
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Rinse the pork belly under cool running water while gently rubbing with your hands. Make sure to rinse away any residue from the skin.
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Pat the pork belly completely dry with clean paper towels.
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If the skin seems excessively dirty, soak briefly in cold water mixed with 2 tbsp vinegar per quart of water. Rinse and dry well.
Cleaning Cured or Smoked Pork Belly
For bacon, pancetta and other cured or smoked pork belly:
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Soak in cold water for 30 minutes to an hour to remove excess salt, smoke residue and impurities from the meat.
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Place in a colander and rinse well under cool water. Gently rub the skin side to release any embedded particles.
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Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels.
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If the pork belly came pickled in brine, rinse well and soak for 1-2 hours, changing the water halfway. Rinse again before patting dry.
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To remove excess smoke flavor, soak in milk or buttermilk for 30 mins before rinsing and patting dry.
How to Remove Hair from Pork Belly Skin
Pig hair is difficult to clean from the skin. Here are ways to de-hair pork belly:
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Blow torch – Lightly run a culinary torch back and forth over the skin to singe off hairs. Don’t burn the meat.
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Shave – Firm up chilled pork belly by freezing 30 mins. Shave off hairs with a sharp razor in short, smooth strokes.
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Scald – Dip pork belly in 140°F water for 1 minute to soften hairs. Remove and scrape off with a knife.
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Sear – Press belly skin-side down on a hot cast iron pan to singe off hairs.
Prepping Pork Belly for Cooking
Once cleaned, prep the pork belly using these tips:
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Dry – Ensure pork is patted completely dry before cooking to prevent splattering. Stuff paper towels inside the cavity to absorb moisture if needed.
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Score – Use a sharp knife to cut 1/8” grooves across the skin side. This helps render fat and absorb flavors when cooking.
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Pierce – Prick the skin all over with a fork or skewer. This allows steam to escape and fat to drain easily during cooking.
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Season – Rub chopped garlic, cracked pepper, herbs and spices into the scored skin to add flavor.
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Chill – For extra crispy skin, chill coated pork belly overnight which dries out the skin surface.
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Portion – For even cooking, slice pork belly into manageable square portions before searing, roasting or braising.
With clean and prepped pork belly, you’re ready to cook and enjoy via any recipe that calls for this flavorful cut. Taking the time to properly clean pork belly pays off in both food safety and the finished taste and texture once cooked.
HOW TO REMOVE THE SKIN FROM A PORK BELLY JOINT – Cooking with Chef Dai
FAQ
Do you need to clean pork belly?
How do you clean a pork stomach?
Do I need to remove skin from pork belly?
How do you dry out a pork belly?
Flip and salt the skin side of the belly, making sure salt gets rubbed into the score marks and pressed into the holes. Place the strips, skin side up, on a tray or 9×13-inch casserole dish and refrigerate uncovered for 12-24 hours to dry out the skin. The longer the better with this process.
How to loose belly fat quickly?
With a healthy diet and physical exercise. Some supplements like turmeric and Chlorella can help and it is very important to keep the intestines healthy to prevent the belly from getting bloated.
How do you remove skin from pork belly?
Partially Freeze the Pork Belly: To make the skin removal easier, partially freeze the pork belly for about 30 minutes to an hour. This firms up the skin and makes it more manageable when using the knife. Begin by creating a starting point. Make a shallow incision through the skin along one edge of the pork belly.
What to do with pork belly?
Serve with the sauce on the side. A common mistake with pork belly is attempting to cook it at a high temperature to get the skin crisp. All this does is dry out the meat and render all the fat. Low and slow roasting is the key, followed by a quick ten-minute crisp up of the skin at the end.