Recipe: Chinese Roast Pork (Siew Yuk) v2.0

Another must-have dish for us during Chinese New Year reunion dinner is Chinese roast pork aka siew yuk. Siew yuk is a popular dish during CNY as pork symbolizes strength and wealth. In my family, it is usually offered to the ancestors during the prayers (pre-reunion dinner), and then later enjoyed by all at the dinner table.

For us, a good siew yuk must have good fat to lean meat ratio, as well as crispy crackling. I am happy with my previous recipe for homemade siew yuk - the taste is good and the crackling is crispy, however I experimented on different drying methods to see if I could produce the best siew yuk with the crispiest crackling.

This time, we placed it under the hot sun for about 1 hour for the skin to dry up. And yes, we got siew yuk with super crispy crackling, however the downside is you will need to watch it (especially if there are cats or birds lurking around in your neighbourhood), so I think I still prefer to air-dry it under a fan for a few hours. We also got this new rolling tool which helps makes / pricks many small holes in the skin to make the skin crispy ;)

Don't forget to make this easy homemade chilli sauce which goes perfectly with roast meats!

Chinese roast pork belly (Siew Yuk 燒肉)
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from here
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 60-70 minutes
Serves 4-5

Ingredients
2.3kg pork belly
3 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp five spice powder

1-2 tbsp coarse salt

To serve
Homemade chilli sauce


1. Wash the pork belly and pat it dry with a kitchen towel. Place the pork belly, skin side up, on a wire rack (with a tray underneath). Prick the pork belly all over with a sharp knife, carving fork or rolling apparatus (as above photo) - the more holes you make, the better. Then, place under hot sun for about 1 hour for the skin to dry up.

2. Using a sharp knife, lightly score the pork belly skin-side. The lines should be diagonal and around an inch apart from one another.

3. Rub 3 tsp of fine salt and 2 tsp five spice powder all over the meat. Place the pork belly on a wire rack under a fan for another 2 hours to dry further.

4.Preheat the oven to 200°C and set to roast mode. Sprinkle coarse salt all over the top (it's ok even if you put a lot, as you can scrape it off later), and place the pork belly on a wire rack with a tray underneath to catch the drippings into the preheated oven (in the centre of the oven). Roast for 25 minutes.

5. Change the oven setting to grill mode 230°C and cook for another 45-50 minutes until the crackling is golden brown and crispy. At this point the skins hisses and crackles and should look "bumpy". If there are any burnt bits, just scrape it off using a sharp knife. You will also be able to scrape off all the coarse salt easily.

6. Remove the roasted pork belly from the oven and allow to rest for about 10 minutes, then chop with a meat cleaver into bite-size pieces.

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