Can I use something other than 5 spice?

You could use a mix of ground cinnamon, cumin and coriander in its place - use 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground cumin and 1 tablespoon ground coriander.

Do I have to salt the pork belly overnight?

You don't have to - but give it at least 3 hours. The purpose is to dry the skin out as much as possible (salt will draw the moisture out) so that you get perfectly crispy crackling at the end.

How long will the pork belly last?

Once cooked, leftovers will be fine for 5 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Leftovers make brilliant tacos, wraps, sandwiches or dumpling fillings.

Crispy Slow Roasted Pork Belly

Description

Incredibly succulent, juicy pork belly and the perfect crispy crackling? This slow-roasted pork belly recipe is something special. It takes no time to prep, then just let the oven do all the work. Served with a sticky plum sauce, it makes a wonderful centrepiece to feed a crowd.

Remember, if you’re looking for US measurements, use the ‘Units’ section below and click on ‘US’.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the slow roasted pork belly –

A large piece of pork belly (2kg/4.5lb)
2 tablespoons Chinese 5 spice
3 tablespoons salt

For the sticky plum sauce –

400g plums
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 whole star anise
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey

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Instructions

Marinate the pork. Mix your Chinese 5 spice with 1 tablespoon of salt. Place the pork belly in a large oven dish, skin side down. Rub the mix all over the flesh side of the pork belly. Turn it over, then wipe off any spice mix that might have found its way onto the skin. Using a very sharp knife, slice thin lines into the pork skin, being careful not to cut too deep. You just want to score the skin so the fat can bubble up to the top and help create crackling. It’s also super important the skin is dry at this point, so pat it down with paper towels. Sprinkle another 2 tablespoons of salt onto the skin, and rub it all over. Place it in the fridge uncovered, ideally overnight (or at least 3 hours).
Roast the pork belly. The next day, remove the pork belly from the fridge and heat your oven to 150C/300F. Pat dry any wet spots on the skin. Prepare a large wire rack above an oven tray, and brush the rack with oil. Carefully place the pork on the rack, then transfer it to the oven for 3 hours.
Make the sticky plum sauce. Halve your plums, then remove the stones. Add the plums to a pot with the cinnamon sticks, fish sauce, caster sugar, red wine vinegar, star anise and honey. Set the pot over medium heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves and the plums are soft. You want them to keep their shape if possible, so don’t stir them too much. Set aside.
Crisp up the crackling. After 3 hours, the pork should be super tender. Now we’re going to finish it off and get that lovely crispy crackling. Turn the oven up to 200C/390F and roast for another hour. After this time, the skin should be super crispy and blistered. Remove the pork from the oven. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before slicing and transferring the pieces to a serving plate. Spoon a little of the sticky plum sauce over the crispy pork pieces, and serve the rest of the sauce on the side.

Notes

While this recipe takes time, the actual hands-on time is minimal, making it great for feeding a crowd on special occasions.

The sticky plum sauce can be made a week in advance, just bring it back to room temperature before you serve.

The best way to get nice, tidy square pieces of pork belly is to have a very sharp knife! Use the scoring lines as your guide to firmly and confidently cut through the crackling, then go straight down through the tender meat.

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 240
Category: meat
Method: oven
Cuisine: asian

Nutrition

Serving Size: 200g

Keywords: pork belly, roast pork, crispy pork belly