Five spice marinated pork belly roasted with a crispy bubbly skin and juicy, tender meat.
Crispy roast pork belly also known as thit heo quay in Vietnamese is a delicious savory pork belly dish that has the signature bubbly, crunchy skin. This dish is often enjoyed during special occasions and family gatherings and eaten with rice, noodles or on its own dipped in hoisin sauce. I personally love adding this to banh mi. The ingredients to this dish are simple, pork belly slab, coarse salt, five spice powder, white pepper powder, sugar and minced garlic. The key to achieving the perfect crispy skin is to dry the skin side of the pork extremely well when marinating the meat in the fridge then roasting with coarse salt on the skin in the oven. After roasting and removing the salt crust, broil the pork until the skin becomes beautifully golden and crispy.
It's important to have an even slab of pork belly with a good ratio of fat to meat. These cuts of pork belly can often be found in Asian grocery stores or you can see if you can source it from your local butcher. If the pork belly is uneven, you can place foil under the pork belly when roasting it in the oven to even it out.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs pork belly
Coarse kosher sea salt
Marinade:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp white pepper powder
1 tsp sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
Visual Directions:
Assemble the marinade in a small bowl by mixing salt, pepper, five spice powder, sugar and minced garlic.
Apply the marinade throughout the pork except the skin and place in a pan or bowl, skin side up.
Using a skewer or knife, poke small holes throughout the entire surface of the skin. Do not cut into the meat too deep, just on the surface of the skin. Pat the skin side with a paper towel to ensure the skin is fully dry and marinate for a minimum of 4 hours to overnight in the fridge.
Remove from fridge and preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Prepare a roasting pan and create a foil boat for the pork belly leaving the skin side up. Dry the skin with a paper towel to wipe off any extra moisture.
Pour an even layer of the coarse salt over the pork skin. The salt layer just needs to be thick enough to fully cover the surface of the skin.
After 1 hour, remove the pan and bring the oven to a low broil (if your oven runs cooler, you can set to medium/high).
Remove the salt crust layer and discard, wipe off any excess salt on top and place the pork belly onto a rack over the roasting pan. Pour 1 cup of water into the pan to prevent bits from burning in the oven. Place the pork into the oven and broil for 10 mins or until the skin is fully golden brown and bubbly.
Remove from oven and allow the pork to rest for about 10 mins before slicing.
Directions:
Assemble the marinade in a small bowl by mixing salt, pepper, five spice powder, sugar and minced garlic.
Apply the marinade throughout the pork except the skin and place in a pan or bowl, skin side up.
Using a skewer or knife, poke small holes throughout the entire surface of the skin. Do not cut into the meat too deep, just on the surface of the skin.
Pat the skin side with a paper towel to ensure the skin is fully dry and marinate for a minimum of 4 hours to overnight in the fridge.
Remove from fridge and preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Prepare a roasting pan and create a foil boat for the pork belly leaving the skin side up. Dry the skin with a paper towel to wipe off any extra moisture.
Pour an even layer of the coarse salt over the pork skin. The salt layer just needs to be thick enough to fully cover the surface of the skin.
Place in the oven and roast for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, remove the pan and bring the oven to a low broil (if your oven runs cooler, you can set to medium/high).
Remove the salt crust layer and discard, wipe off any excess salt on top and place the pork belly onto a rack over the roasting pan. Pour 1 cup of water into the pan to prevent bits from burning in the oven.
Place the pork into the oven and broil for 10 mins or until the skin is fully golden brown and bubbly.
Remove from oven and allow the pork to rest for about 10 mins before slicing.
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