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Chinese roast pork or siu yuk. Save yourself a trip to Chinatown and use this easy recipe for the best and crispiest Chinese roast pork belly at home.
Chinese Roast Pork Recipe
In my cookbook “Easy Chinese Recipes,” I have a Chinese roast pork belly recipe, or siu yuk.
When it comes to Chinese roast pork, one could never have enough of the crispy skinned roasted pork belly. It’s sinfully delicious!
This Chinese Roast Pork recipe is from my good friend Robert Danhi’s Facebook page. Robert and his wife made the roast pork following a recipe gathered from a church in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This is the PERFECT recipe for Chinese roast pork belly! It’s absolutely mouthwatering.
The recipe is easy, hassle-free and fail-proof. I guarantee you crispy, crunchy, absolutely aromatic and to-die-for pork crackling, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is the easiest and best recipe you’ll find online. There is no need to poke the pork skin, there is no no vinegar in the recipe.
There is also no need to par-boil the pork belly before roasting.
The end result is very crispy pork crackling. The pork belly is also juicy, tender, with the melt-in-your-mouth pork fat.
The taste is a bit salty and aromatic. The aroma comes from the garlic and five-spice powder.
Ingredients
- Pork belly
- Five spice powder
- Garlic
- Kosher salt
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), arrange a pan on the bottom 1/3 of oven rack and fill with water. The pork belly should be roasted using the rack above it.
Step 2: Wash and use paper towels to dry the pork belly.
Step 3: Make some horizontal slits on the sides of the belly, then rub the meat side with the five spice powder.
Step 4: Insert each garlic and push them deep inside the pork belly.
Step 5: Layer the top of the pork belly with the salt evenly.
Step 6: Place the pork belly on a wire rack. This is how it should look before going into the oven.
Step 7: Place the pork belly at the top 1/3 of the oven and roast for 1 hour. While baking, the oil will drip to the bottom pan with water.
Step 8: Bake until the salt crust forms, the salt should be hardened. Check water in the pan below and add if needed. This is how the pork belly and salt crust will look like in the oven. You have to insert the garlic deep inside the horizontal slits or else they will be pushed out during the roasting process.
Step 9: Remove the pork belly from the oven, pull off the salt crust and discard.
Step 10: Raise the heat of oven to 465°F (240°C), place the pork belly back in the oven and roast for another 40 minutes.
Step 11: Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes.
Step 12: Cut and serve immediately with some chili sauce and hoisin sauce, or eat as is.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 446 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Serve this dish with rice or noodles. For a Chinese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Chinese Roast Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork belly
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon five spice powder
- Kosher salt, for layering
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), arrange a pan on the bottom 1/3 of oven rack and fill with water. The pork belly should be roasted using the rack above it.
- Wash and use paper towels to dry the pork belly.
- Make some horizontal slits on the sides of the belly, then rub the meat side with the five spice powder.
- Insert each garlic and push them deep inside the pork belly.
- Layer the top of the pork belly with the salt evenly.
- Place the pork belly on a wire rack. This is how it should look before going into the oven.
- Place the pork belly at the top 1/3 of the oven and roast for 1 hour. While baking, the oil will drip to the bottom pan with water.
- Bake until the salt crust forms, the salt should be hardened. Check water in the pan below and add if needed. This is how the pork belly and salt crust will look like in the oven. You have to insert the garlic deep inside the horizontal slits or else they will be pushed out during the roasting process.
- Remove the pork belly from the oven, pull off the salt crust and discard.
- Raise the heat of oven to 465°F (240°C), place the pork belly back in the oven and roast for another 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes.
- Cut and serve immediately with some chili sauce and hoisin sauce, or eat as is.
Video
Notes
- Bake until the salt crust forms, the salt should be hardened.
- Check water in the pan below and add if needed.
- You have to insert the garlic deep inside the horizontal slits or else they will be pushed out during the roasting process.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh, and I omitted both the five spice and the garlic and ate it with cauliflower, apple sauce and gravy.
The way it should be ;)
Yummy :)
I didn’t have high hopes as at the end of the cooking time the skin was dark and flaccid. That said, just 30 mins of blasting under the grill setting gave a lovely, even crisp finish which was light and oh-so crackly.
Good job
Hi, i have tried a similar recipe before using salt crust but i found that the salt crust is very diffcult to remove and some salt are sticking to the skin! any ideas why that would happen? was it because i didn’t bake the salt crust long enough? i normally tried to remove the salt after 45-50mins.
Thanks
Yeah maybe.
Hi bee, I roasted for an hour at 180 degree but certain part of the salt crust stick on the skin even after removing the crust, any idea how it can be removed totally like your YouTube video?
I baked mine the whole hour and it came off fine. I’d tied the pork w/ twine to hold the garlic in, so the salt stuck to the rope but the skin parts came off easily.
Hi Bee,
got the rind ‘biscuit crisp’, but it doesn’t stay and turn soft after maybe like a couple of hours later.
wonder how can we maintain the crust?
thanks!
Hi Bee,.. I’ve tried making it once and the skin is really crispy. But I wonder why the pork taste rather salty even after removing the crust. Need you advise. Thank you!
Put less salt.
Hi thanks for your great recipe. I have tried few roast pork recipes but no one works for me and I feel great Cox with ur recipe I’m now able to make my own roast pork and I want to say ur recipe is the easiest recipe for roast pork. No boil and complicated steps. All I changed is I put into fridge after marinate the meat to make the skin more dry just in case. Out of my surprised it’s came out perfectly with crispy crunchy top. Thank you!
Hi, should the fat or the meat side be up? Thanks
Fat side up.
Hi Bee, i just don’t know if I miss any steps here. Do you mix the salt with water or egg yolk to keep it sticks together, or just pour the salt right on top the pork? I’m afraid it would not stay. Let me know please, my pork is ready for the oven but i still don’t know how to keep the salt on.
Thanks.
Just put on top as instructed, press them on if they don’t stay. After baking the salt forms into crust.
Hi!
Was wondering if I can marinade the meat with shaoxing wine and five spice powder and leave it overnight to marinade before cooking it the next day with the salt crust?
Thanks!
I think so.
followed the steps closely n WOW!… finally got it right!
…not after several attempts!
THANKS!
Cool Alwee glad you got the Chinese roast pork right now.
hi Bee,
the crispy crust doesn’t last…got to consume right away..
any steps to maintain the “crispyness”..
Hi Alwee, it’s probably because of humidity. Mine stay crusty for the whole day!
wow!
a friend (chef), suggested leaving meat (hanged) in the open…rather than having it covered to avoid flies