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Crispy Chinese Pork Belly Recipe
This crispy Chinese pork belly recipe is everything I want when a proper craving hits. Rich, salty, slightly sticky, and packed with flavour, it delivers that irresistible combination of tender meat, rendered fat, and crisped edges that makes pork belly so hard to resist. It is the sort of dish that feels indulgent, deeply satisfying, and well worth giving over a little time and patience in the kitchen.
Crispy Chinese Pork Belly
This crispy Chinese pork belly is all about that rich, slow-cooked depth of flavour. I cut the pork into bite-sized pieces, then let it gently roast until meltingly tender before crisping it up just enough to get those golden edges. There’s no crackling here - just glossy, sticky, umami-packed pork that’s ridiculously moreish. It’s perfect with fluffy rice, tucked into bao buns, or eaten straight from the pan (no judgement).
Ingredients
- 750g pork belly, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tsp black vinegar
Instructions
- Slice the pork belly into 1/2 inch pieces and combine with the soy sauce, ginger, Shaoxing wine, and black vinegar. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 150°C (conventional) or 130°C (fan).
- Spread the pork belly evenly across an oven tray, including any additional marinade.
- Cook in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
- Remove from the oven and increase the heat to 220°C (conventional) or 200°C (fan).
- Shake the pork belly in the tray to loosen any pieces that have stuck, then return to the oven.
- Cook for an additional 45-50 minutes, or until deep golden brown and crispy.
Notes
- The two-temperature cooking method is the key to this recipe. The low and slow first cook renders out the fat and makes the pork tender, while the high heat blast at the end crisps everything up to a deep, sticky golden.
- Pork belly needs time. Don't rush the low temperature phase or the fat won't render properly and you'll end up with chewy rather than crispy pork.
- Light soy sauce gives a cleaner, saltier flavour than dark soy sauce and is better for marinades where you want the pork to caramelise without burning too quickly.
- Shaoxing wine adds an authentic depth and complexity that's worth tracking down. You can find it in most Asian grocery stores. Dry sherry works as a substitute in a pinch.
- Black vinegar has a mellow, slightly smoky flavour that adds depth to the marinade. If you can't find it, rice wine vinegar works but the flavour will be slightly sharper.
- I use this heavy-based roasting tray for this recipe. It conducts the heat evenly and gives you the best chance of getting an even crisp across all the pieces.
- Keep an eye on the pork during the high heat phase. The sugars in the soy sauce can go from golden to burnt quickly. Check from 40 minutes onwards.
- Shaking the tray halfway through the high heat phase ensures all sides of the pork get exposure to the heat and crisp up evenly.
- If you've got the time, marinate the pork overnight in the fridge for an even deeper flavour.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a hot oven at 200°C for 10-15 minutes to crisp them up again.
- You can freeze cooked pork belly for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat in a hot oven to restore the crispiness.
What I Cook With
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 561Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 158mgSodium: 1265mgCarbohydrates: 1gNet Carbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gSugar Alcohols: 0gProtein: 44g
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Crispy Chinese Pork Belly Recipe & Cooking Through the Cravings
Crispy Chinese Pork Belly is one of those dishes that absolutely delivers on every craving. Imagine slow-cooked pork belly that’s slightly crispy and crunchy, packed with rich, intense flavour that coats your mouth and warms your soul. That’s exactly what I was aiming for with this recipe, and it never fails to impress. It’s the kind of dish that tastes like it took hours to master, but really, it’s just about layering flavour, taking your time, and trusting your kitchen instincts.
This recipe was inspired by all the yum cha visits I used to make with my friends back in Sydney. We’d wander through China Town, eyes bigger than our bellies, ordering more than we could possibly eat. Crispy pork belly was always the highlight, glistening with its perfect crackle and tender, juicy layers underneath. Chinese food in the UK is different – lovely, but not quite the same – so I started recreating the dishes I missed most, trying to bring a little piece of home with me.
Thankfully, my husband is fully on board with my recreations. He loves Chinese food, especially when it includes something as indulgent as pork belly. This one in particular has become a household favourite – it’s everything you want from a Chinese takeaway but homemade and filled with all the good memories of food courts, street stalls, and dinner tables lined with chopsticks and tea cups.
The Flavour Balance
What I adore most about this crispy Chinese pork belly recipe is the way the flavours all come together so seamlessly. There’s a real harmony in the ingredients – the soy sauce brings its deep savoury notes, but the black vinegar and ginger cut through with just enough tang and warmth to balance it out. I love how the Shaoxing wine adds that earthy depth – it makes the dish feel rich without being heavy. It’s clever cooking, even if you don’t realise it while you’re devouring it.
The texture is just as important here. When that fat begins to render and caramelise in the pan, it creates a crackling, sweet crunch that’s borderline addictive. I’ve found that cooking the pork belly slowly is the real key to unlocking that combination of juicy meat and crispy top. It’s a bit of a wait, but it’s worth every minute when you hear that first satisfying crunch.
I know some people worry about pork belly being too fatty, but honestly, when it’s cooked properly, that richness is part of the magic. Especially when you serve it the way we do – with a big bowl of rice, marinated veggies, a few crispy fried onions, and plenty of fresh spring onion scattered on top. It cuts through the fat and lifts the whole dish up.
From My Kitchen to Yours
It might sound like I’ve perfected it, but trust me, I’ve made all the mistakes first. The trickiest part is definitely slicing the pork belly properly. Too thick, and it won’t crisp up. Too thin, and it dries out before the fat can do its thing. I aim for about a centimetre or so – just enough to hold its shape, cook evenly, and deliver that perfect texture in every bite. Once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll get the hang of it.
Cooking this at home in Scotland makes me feel a little closer to Sydney. I never imagined I’d miss yum cha as much as I do, but food really does hold memory, doesn’t it? This dish is like a postcard to my past, written in soy, vinegar, and sizzling pork fat. It’s comfort food with a story, and that makes it all the more delicious.
So now, whenever I’m craving a little taste of home, or just want something that feels extra special, I pull out this recipe. And every time, it makes me smile. It’s one of those meals that brings people together, gets them reaching for seconds, and then asking when you’ll be making it again. Which, if you’re anything like me, is exactly the kind of meal you want in your repertoire.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my pork belly come out chewy instead of crispy? Almost always the low temperature phase being rushed. The first hour at low heat is what renders the fat out of the pork belly and makes it tender enough to crisp up properly in the second phase. Skip or shorten it and you end up with fat that hasn’t rendered, which means chewy rather than crispy pork regardless of how high you crank the oven at the end.
Can I marinate the pork overnight? Yes, and it’s worth doing if you have the time. The longer the pork sits in the soy sauce, ginger, Shaoxing wine, and black vinegar, the deeper the flavour penetrates the meat before it ever sees the oven. Overnight in the fridge gives you a noticeably more flavourful result than an hour.
What can I substitute for Shaoxing wine? Dry sherry is the closest substitute and works well in a pinch. Rice wine vinegar will also do the job but gives a slightly different flavour. Shaoxing wine is worth tracking down at an Asian grocery store if you cook Chinese food regularly because it’s inexpensive, keeps for a long time, and adds an authentic depth that substitutes don’t quite replicate.
Ingredient breakdown
Pork belly
Sliced into half-inch pieces rather than cooked as a whole slab, which means more surface area for the marinade to penetrate and more edges for the high heat phase to crisp up. Pork belly has a high fat-to-meat ratio, which is exactly what makes it so good in a recipe like this. That fat renders slowly during the first low-temperature hour and is what transforms the meat from tough and chewy into tender and rich before the oven is cranked up and everything crisps to a deep, sticky golden.
Light soy sauce
The primary marinade ingredient and the source of the salty, savoury depth that runs through the finished pork. Light soy sauce rather than dark because it gives a cleaner, saltier flavour and lets the pork caramelise during the high heat phase without burning too quickly. Dark soy sauce has a stronger colour and a slightly bitter depth that suits braised dishes better than a high-heat roast like this one.
Ginger
Minced fresh ginger in the marinade adds a clean, slightly spicy warmth that cuts through the richness of the pork belly and gives the finished dish a distinctly Chinese character. It also helps tenderise the surface of the meat slightly during the marinating time.
Shaoxing wine
A Chinese cooking wine with a mellow, slightly nutty depth that is genuinely worth tracking down at an Asian grocery store rather than substituting. It adds an authentic complexity to the marinade that dry sherry approximates but doesn’t quite replicate. It keeps for a long time once opened and is worth having in the pantry if you cook Chinese food with any regularity.
Black vinegar
A small amount adds a mellow, slightly smoky acidity that lifts the marinade and stops it from tasting purely salty and one-dimensional. Chinese black vinegar has a depth and complexity that rice wine vinegar doesn’t have, though rice wine vinegar works as a substitute if black vinegar isn’t available. The flavour will be slightly sharper but still good.
Serve this with
- Steamed bao buns with hoisin sauce and shredded spring onion if you want to turn this into something a bit more of an occasion.
- Steamed jasmine rice and stir-fried greens, which is the classic and entirely correct combination for crispy pork belly.
- A simple cucumber and sesame salad for a cool, fresh contrast to the rich, fatty pork.
