Hi
I had a big success at the first attempt on this
recipe!
Thanks to brother Simon for his dedicated teaching. He is one of the great cook in my church (Hope Church Singapore). It was a wonderful afternoon learning how to make this roasted pork belly from him.
My
hubby and children are big fans of crispy roast pork belly. I attempted making previously from other
recipe but failed miserably. I’m so
happy that I have finally made it.
As this is my first success and may not be my best work per se, but I’m there and it is all that counts.
HAPPY
ROASTING!
INGREDIENTS
1 kg Pork belly
6-8 cloves Garlic
Marinade
2 tsp Five
spice powder
1 tsp Black
pepper
1 tbsp Five
spice salt
1 tsp cinnamon
powder
3 (or more) Sage
leaves (fresh or dried)
Baking
200g-300g Sea
salt
4-6 Large
yellow onions
1 (or few) Fresh
or dried thyme
1 (or few) Fresh
or dried rosemary (I skipped as I couldn’t get it at the small neighborhood supermarket near
my house)
STEPS
(1)Wash and dry the port belly.
(2)Prick the skin laboriously [but
not prickling through the skin] until the skin is
completely punctured with holes. This is
crucial in order to create a crispy skin on top of the pork belly. [I was too engrossed with the prickling and have
missed out taking pic]
(3)Make deep horizontal stabs in the sides of the belly,
insert garlic cloves into each cavity and push them in deep. [I was trying hard to insert the garlic into the meat and simply to
extra hands to take pic]
(4)Rub the meat sides with the five spice power, five
spice salt, cinnamon powder and sage (finely chopped or pressed on whole).
(5)Marinade overnight, leave cling-wrapped in fridge or
in food bag – keep chilled.
(6)Preheat oven to 180°C, line bottom of pan with
thick-sliced onions and a cup of water.
Line pork belly skin side up on a rack over the onions.
(7)Pat dry pork belly skin, then layer the top with the
salt evenly to form a coat.
(8)Bake at 180°C for 40 minutes, grill mode.
(9)When salt crust forms, the skin should be dry.
(10)Remove the pork belly from the oven, raise oven to 240°C.
While oven is heating up, pull off the salt crust and
discard.
(11)Add rosemary and thyme to
onions, check water level, it should be about 5mm high (to prevent drying
out). Place the pork belly back in the
oven immediately, roast for another 10-15 minutes.
(12)Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes on a
cutting/serving board.
(13)Cut and serve immediately.