This Chinese pork belly slices recipe is one of my favorite recipes on the site. The three-step cooking process for tender, melt-in-your-mouth pork with a crispy exterior and an incredibly rich, sweet, and spicy flavor is explained.
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How to cook pork in Chinese
- This pork actually has three layers of flavor. The first comes from slow cooking in a pan for 2 hours with broth, garlic, ginger, rice wine and a little sugar:
- The second layer comes from a crispy crust in a pan with a little vegetable oil and seasoning (it’s really hard not to stop here and eat the meat right out of the pan).
- The final layer is soy/chili/sugar/lemongrass and a few other ingredients that are mixed, then poured over the roast pork and then simmered until it’s thick and glistening.
In this recipe, the sauce is added at the end. But don’t fool yourself. Just because the pork hasn’t been marinated for hours doesn’t mean it won’t taste remarkable, it tastes incredible even though we only glaze at the end.
In general, marinating meat does not always give a better taste, for example, in some barbecue recipes, such marinating is not necessary – just add spices and immediately send the meat to the grill. Never cooked like this? Try it, but only if you use fresh pork neck.
Chinese pork belly
Chinese pork belly recipes
The sticky Chinese belly pork is slow-cooked until it is melting tender, then finished with a sticky chili glaze.
Ingredients
Slow Cooked Pork Belly:
- 1 kg (2.2lb) rindless pork belly slices – chopped in half (each piece being approx. the length of your index finger)
- 1 liter (4+ ¼ cups) hot chicken stock
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger – peeled and minced (or 1 tbsp of ginger purée)
- 3 cloves garlic – peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp rice wine
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
Glaze:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger – peeled and minced
- 1 red chili – finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp lemon grass paste
To Serve:
- Chopped spring onions
- Chopped red chilies
Instructions
A heavy-based pan should be filled with pork belly slices, stock, ginger, garlic, rice wine and sugar. I use a cast iron casserole pan. (1 kg (2.2lb) rindless pork belly slices, 1 liter (4+ ¼ cups) hot chicken stock, 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp rice wine, 1 tbsp caster sugar)
For cooking, bring to the boil, then place a lid on, turn down the heat, and simmer for 2 hours.
Turn off the heat and dry the pork with kitchen towels. You can reserve some liquid if you like (Perfect for a Thai or Chinese noodle soup).
The pork should be sliced into bite-sized chunks - into bite.
Now let's make the sauce. In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp of the oil, along with a pinch of salt and pepper, honey, chili, brown sugar, soy sauce, the ginger, and lemongrass paste. (1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, 1 red chili, 2 tbsp Honey, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 3 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp lemon grass paste, pinch of salt and pepper).
Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat (1 tbsp).
Add in the pork, along with a pinch of salt and pepper, and fry until the pork starts to turn golden brown. Turning regularly. I recommend a splatter guard because the oil can splatter at this stage.
Now pour the glaze over the pork and continue to cook for a couple of minutes, turning it frequently, until the pork looks dark and sticky.
Please remove from the heat and serve immediately. I suggest topping with spring onions and chopped chilies.
Bon appétit!
Notes
You can cook the pork before step 2 (where the pork is slow cooked and then drained). Then cool quickly, cover and refrigerate (up to two days) or freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before slicing and grilling the meat.
You can also make the sauce ahead of time, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size
4 servingsAmount Per Serving Calories 531Total Fat 38gSaturated Fat 15gSodium 654mgCarbohydrates 14gSugar 12gProtein 33g
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