Crispy Roast Pork Belly – Siew Yuk (烧肉)
L.O.V.E.
Whose recipes do you use or follow the most? Many cooks including myself rely on cookbooks now and again, or go search for recipes online. But when comes to home cooking, you simply can’t go past a good ole mum’s recipe. After cooking two rounds of momofuku bo ssam (you probably so sick of me keep talking about it already) for the sydney food bloggers and the orphan’s Christmas parties, it is done and dusted. The cookbook is back in the bookshelf and it’s time to switch back to my own recipe of traditional Chinese crispy pork belly for one last group feasting at Richard’s on Boxing Day.
Read on and find out how I turned a nice piece of pork belly, from this ↑ into this ↓
Chinese crispy roast pork belly, commonly known as Siew Yuk (烧肉) or Siao Bak (in Hokkien), literally means “burn the meat”, indeed a mesmerising sight of the spit roast that’s how it gained its name. The Chinese roast pork belly is a little bit different from the western version. I may be bias, but the Chinese roast pork belly is all about the crispy skin, if not crunchy. That golden blistered pork skin with the most amazing earth shattering crunch is typically how we judge a good crispy roast pork belly.
To achieve such crunchiness is not rocket science really, it is a lot easier than you’d imagined. You just have to keep an eye on the oven and don’t let the skin burned into charcoal. Apart from the crunchy skin crackles, the marinade for the pork is just as important. There are many different versions on how to make that perfect crispy pork belly, you can read all about it here, here, here and here. Of course, I have my own ‘secret’ recipe, that’s all I can say. 
But like I said, to impress the guests with the most amazing cracklings at your next dinner party is easy. I’ll show you how. I bought a 3 kilo pork belly at the local butcher shop and asked them kindly to de-bone it. They offered me to score the skin, but I prefer to do it myself. For the skin, try to avoid the diamond shape scoring as you’d usually do with a roast pork. It’s best to just score it in vertical lines about 2 to 3 cm apart as they will become the guidelines where to chop the meat once cooked.
Another important step for that crunchiness is to make sure the skin is as bone dry. The dryer it is, the crunchier it gets. First you will need to blanch (and cook a little) the skin with hot water then pat dry with paper towel. Some will go to the length of sun drying the piece of meat, but I found just pat dry and let it marinade overnight in the fridge is sufficient. When ready to put in the oven, just use paper towel to pat on the skin to get rid of any moisture if necessary.
And final tip is salt. Salt is commonly used to achieve that bubbles blistering skin. However, the excessive use of salt can be harmful for those who is suffering hypertension like me. Instead of rubbing table salt or any ground salt into the skin, use rock salt and sprinkle on top of the skin sparingly. The rock salt will still help to increase the temperature on the skin for that crunchy result and it also doesn’t melt as much like ground salt into the skin. Hence, you can simply just brush off the rock salt once is ready, and it wont add another layer of saltiness to the pork belly.
If there is any area on the skin that still look tender and unblistered, simply poke it with a sharp knife a few times and let the oil escape. Put it back in the oven and continue cooking until the whole skin evenly roasted.
I served the crispy roast pork belly with some hoisin sauce at the party, but traditionally a chopped bird’s eye chillies dipping soy sauce will have me devour the whole plate of crispy pork belly in no time.
Chinese crispy roast Pork Belly - Siew Yuk (烧肉)
Ingredients:
3 kg pork belly (with skin on)
1 bag rock salt
Method:
1. Clean the pork belly, scrape the skin with a knife to get rid of any hair then pat dry all over with kitchen towel.
2. Score the skin in vertical lines about 2-3cm apart. Boil some hot water in kettle, pour the hot water over the skin and let it blanch and cook a little.
3. Pat dry the pork again and this time make sure it is completely dry especially the scored lines on the skin.
4. Rub whichever marinade you are using evenly into the meat. DO NOT rub on the skin. If any marinade get on the skin, clean it with a paper towel.
5. Put the pork belly in baking tray, wrap with cling foil and leave it in the fridge to marinade at least 2 hours or overnight.
6. Preheat the oven at 220C, and pat the skin dry again once is out of the fridge to get rid of any moisture. Roast the pork belly for 30 minutes until the skin turns brown.
7. Remove from oven, sprinkle rock salt all over the skin and try rub some into the scored lines. (Don't worry the amount of salt used here, it can be brushed off later)
8. Put it back in the oven and roast for another 30 minutes. At this point, the skin will be crispy and with very small bubbles blistering the skin.
9. Turn the oven up to 250C, and move the pork belly to the highest tray in the oven, as close to the top heat element as possible. "Grill" it for another 20-30 minutes at every 10 minutes interval. Keep checking it until the skin is evenly blistered and make sure it is not burned and blackened.
10. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before chopping it up with cleaver.
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A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
I HATE YOU! can see the roast pork but cannot eat. can you air-pork it over? HAHA
.-= ladyironchef´s last blog ..Smok’Inn Frogz Kitchen: Still the burger to beat =-.
hahaha u just have to come back to Australia again! but wait, i m sure the roast pork in Singapore is even better! I HATE YOU TOO! LOL
hahahhahahahahahahaha Love it
hahahahaahhaahh hi linda!
But you are not telling us your secret marinate recipe.
I actually don’t know how to make siu yuk and my guest blogger Eat A Duck I Must came to my rescue. Yours look fabulous.
.-= Rasa Malaysia´s last blog ..Bean Sprouts with Tofu Puff =-.
heheeheh dont worry, it will be all revealed eventually
Wow, this is so gorgeous. I absolutely love the pork skin.
i think no one dislike pork skin!
Aww… Here I thought you’d actually had picked up a side of pork that had a tatoo on it!
This was some nice roast pork! Was such a pleasure to have it at Richard’s party. Thanks for the recipe
wouldbe so awesome to have pork comes with tattooo! LOL you r welcome, simon
Yum this was so good. The bossam was good but mmmm you can’t beat pork crackling!
i agree, pork crackling anytime!
Mmmm crispy pork …. this on the menu for chinese new year
.-= james m´s last blog ..lady of the room =-.
maybe i will do it again this year
Mmm yum, I love siew yuk but I am always lazy and buy it from the Chinese BBQ takeaway! I like your tip about the rock salt, healthier but you still get the same effect, awesome
.-= Steph´s last blog ..S’mores Cheesecake (Chocolate & Toasted Marshmallow) =-.
trust me, it taste much better than the one bought! u have to give it a try!
That roast pork is a work of art. I still can’t bring myself to cook pork at home, but I’m definitely bookmarking this for when I do!
why cant u cook pork at home? im confused!!!
That’s it. I’m giving siew yuk another try after my last ‘kinda failed’ attempt — certain parts of the skin weren’t crispy!
But but.. u not gonna share your secret marinade with us??
hahahah the marinade is all the same – lah!
good luck with yuor next attempt! 
Oh Billy, the King of Pork, the pork-belly jedi… you’r totally welcome to cook for me anytime!
I love crackling so much that I sometimes go to my chinese butcher to grab some slabs of pork fat for free and then go home and make sheets of crackling. Free pork crackle! I’m soooo bad!
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Ripples @ Sydney Wharf, Pyrmont =-.
oh you see, i best not to know that u actually can buy pork skin then make cracklings… it is pure evil!! must resist!!!!
Psst – what I really want to know… how did you put that tattoo on? What a great picture!
.-= Trissa´s last blog ..Procrastinating Happiness =-.
heheheh photoshop, is all photoshop…
no secret there 
Love that tat! Gorgeous looking pork! Yum.
thanks joey!
What a great guide! So many tips here. The rock salt idea is a great one!
.-= Peter G´s last blog ..The Four Seasons Resort-Koh Samui =-.
no worries, hope u enjoy it and give it a try one day!
What a beautiful crackling!
thanks!
I hate to say it but this looks damn good! And it’s on my “to do list” for 2010.
.-= jo´s last blog ..Crab with Sliced Ginger and Spring Onions =-.
thanks jo, looking forward to see your creation!
Wow. Mouthwatering.
.-= Syrie´s last blog ..Poached Eggs: how to make them step-by-step =-.
hehhehe something like that
I like Karen’s idea. I’ll have to see if I can get some pork skin for free from the wet market butcher next time I’m there.
.-= Nate @ House of Annie´s last blog ..Rambutans, plus a Grow Your Own Announcement =-.
so evillll…….. good luck!
I keep missed out on your cooking! Nothing beats mum’s recipe and a piece of pork belly.
.-= Ellie´s last blog ..Sago Pudding with Palm Sugar and Mango (Sago Gula Melaka) =-.
awww… dont worry there is more parties to come in 2010 I am sure!
Oh gosh that looked so good I could tatt that on my arm.
.-= WX´s last blog ..Review: The Malaya, King Street Wharf =-.
hahaahhah u go ahead!
ugh, your post makes me crave for PORK PORK PORK!!
And I’m not sick of hearing Momofuku and Bo Ssam, as long as you intend to feed us again! LOL
.-= Yas @ hungry.digital.elf´s last blog ..Happy New Year! =-.
lets PORK?! LOL
That looks awesome. I have a hankering to eat siao bak now with some rice.
hahahaha Siao Bak FTW!!
This has to be the most visually pleasing Siew Yuk I have have seen. If we can only eat with our eyes… Love the Tattoo styling – how on earth did it occur to you to style that into your photo… tragically cool.
.-= Kokken69´s last blog ..Korean Bibimbap =-.
hahahahahah i dont know… i guess is the rebel side of me talking
For 30 yrs I have been looking for an authentic Siew Yuk – that is – the same as I used to have in the Oriental Rest in Fortitude Valley Brisbane Aus – will try this recipe for this mother’s day – can’t wait – There have been many immitations and now the mouth is watering…….Kym
This recipe looks great and I want to try it out – I bought some pork belly but it is already in strips and not one whole piece….any tips? I want it really crispy and crunchy -
Fantastic pork, just great. Have you ever used a chinese “docking tool” to puncture the pork after blanching ?
Fantastic Pork crackling. Thankyou
Rock salt makes sense, for several reasons.
Have you ever used a Chinese “docking tool” to puncture the pork skin after blanching ? Last time I hung the raw pork in the fridge for 3 days, wiped etc, then steamed, skin side up for 20 mins. wiped, etc. Then pricked about 1.5cm or so deep with a home made docking tool, salted etc. then hung it vertically in the oven with skin facing oven fan (in fan forced oven) for 50min @200C then up to 250C for another 10minsor so. was very good. Served with a good dippin sauce.(ginger/soy/chilli/dry sherry/dark brown sugar/water to taste)
What do yo think. ??,
I’m a near 70 yr. old trying to perfect a few things in my asian cooking.
WE love it!! and are winning a few.
Hi, Can you please tell me how to make a docking tool or
where I may be able to purchase one? Many thanks in advance,
Ambrose
I like siew yuk so much. some recipe use rice vinigar, salt & sugar to pour into the skin. do you know the reason using rice vinigar?
Yes pork skin is sure available,I just bought a slab at a local bulk buy meat shop at only A$2.99 kilo here on the Gold Coast.
It was all pre packaged up.
“Pattons” if ya need to know and
Labeled [Fresh Pork Crackle]
I are going to try this recipe here on this site tomorrow thats listed.
My mouth drools every time I think of it from trips overseas,[cant afford it here in Australia from the chinese shops at over A$20 per kilo cooked] but even in dreary islamic East Malaysia recently [Borneo] I was saved by the large amount of Chinese long time immigrants who call this island home and where the roast pork was readily available at cafes.
Now I know how to cook it,from Googling this site,Hey the feast is on!!!!!!!!!!
Looks delicious! Great recipe. Great photos too.
Spoon and Chopsticks´s last [type] ..How to Make Kimchi- Easy Homemade Style
The type of pork matters as well, it helps to get belly with a thick layer of fat. Eg if you go to a chinese butcher the type of pork is mostly made for this type of recipe, however if you go to a vietnamese butcher they pefer less fatty types for vietnamese dishes. Sorry I don’t know the names.
$2.99 a Kg holy cow, I live in brisbane, pls do tell where. halfway up I hope.
Hey Paul re [Holy Cow]
$2.99 a KG was the Crispy skin price ,not belly.
Some good deals,but some are suss quality.
thanks heaps, that’s just down the highway.
I was wondering if storing the raw pork belly in the freezer for a while till required will effect the outcome??
Will the skin still puff up as well?
Anyone know??
Ta
I used a frozen pork belly to make my very first Siew Yuk. I didn’t have quite as nice as results, but I attribute that to me being a first timer and my electric oven is rather temperamental. But it did have a crispy skin and was quite tasty!! I’d give it a try
Hey Eva
(
Ta for the response.
OK ill try it.
I keep getting different results using the fresh product,not always good,so it not all successfull every time for me 4 sure
I am trying this tomorrow starting marinating tonight. i
will let you know how it went, by your pix and discription, my
mouth is watering! ty
wwah!
i want to know ur secret recipe! 
hahaha 
Oh please, the recipe from the challenge this week that gave you best dish of the night. Glad to see you back too!
omg i just made your pork billy!
omg im in heaven!
Billy, I’ve tried the pork Billy (belly). It’s soo crispy and yuohhh! Thnxxx u
Billy , I have just made the crispy roast pork belly, thank you! its to die for , cheers.
I love pork belly! I vacuum pack mine (with secret marinade of course)then cook it 12 hours at 85C sous vide. I press it in the fridge till cold then reheat it under the grill till the skin is crisp and brittle. /
Bigger crystal size of salt:
- reduces solubility of salt on pork skin, a nutritional advantage
- increases roasting temperature of pork skin achieving fantastic end result.
Brilliant idea!!
omy! thinks looks like the recipe of the year for me. pork belly, never heard of it…but thanks to you, now i’ll be eating it for dinner! thanks again for sharing.
omg that looks AMAZIIIINNNG. my boyfriend made a super simple one (just salt), but i’m dying to try it with a marinade now.