It’s quite unfortunate that in America, it’s nearly impossible to find fresh pork belly. Most of the pork belly has been sold to be made into bacon for the American breakfast or burger. So to get my pork belly fix, I am relegated to frozen slabs at a Chinese market or paying exorbitant prices at a Japanese or Korean market. Needless to say, I was quite surprised when I walked into Costco the other day to find a slab of fresh pork belly for sale, and when I say slab, it’s a 10 pound side of pork belly! I thought this must be a fluke, maybe there is an overrun of pork slaughtered or people boycotting bacon so Costco had some left as fresh pork belly. In other words, knowing Costco, what you see being sold there one day, might not be there the next time you visit. Well, whatever the reason, I immediately grabbed 4 slabs home with me. I wanted more but it wouldn’t fit in my freezer. There are so many wonderful dishes I can make with pork belly and they will be forthcoming in this blog. But first, I wanted to make some Hakka salted pork belly.

For those of you that do not know Hakka salted pork belly, it’s similar concept to any cured meat like bacon. It’s also very versatile in what you can do with it. The simplest way is to roast it and then slice it and serve it with some leek. You can also chop them up and throw it into fried rice. If you think bacon fried rice is good, wait until you try hakka salted pork belly fried rice, it’s a whole different level of umami. One thing I like to do is to slice it thick along with some leeks and a dab of hoisin sauce and sandwich it in a Chinese bun. I would pick this over Peking duck any day.

Simple recipe but requires patience as you need to wait for the meat to cure before you can enjoy the yummy goodness.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ – 2 lbs pork belly
• 3 tbsp rice wine
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp crushed Sichuan peppercorns
• ½ tsp Chinese five spice powder

Garnish:

• ¼ cup of chopped leeks

Directions:

First, take all the dry ingredients and roast them in a dry pan over medium heat until you see wisps of smoke then remove from heat. Pro Tip: We dry roast the spices to wake up the flavors.

Next, in a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients along with the rice wine and mix. Add in the pork belly and massage the pork with the seasoning, making sure all parts are covered.

At this point, we will need place everything in a container and allow it to cure. Personally I like to use a ziplock bag so it’s easier to flip and can easily get the air out so it takes up less space. Once you have the ingredients in a container, place it in the back of the fridge near the ventilation where it’s the coldest. Allow the meat to cure for at least 2 days. I usually like it in there for about 5 days. You can cut a small piece and fry it to see if the flavor is to your liking. But be warned if you do this every day, you might not have any pork left at the end of 5 days!After the pork has cured in the fridge, remove and we are ready to roast it. Some people pan fry the pork, but I like mine more tender so I ‘slow’ roast in the oven to allow the proteins time to break down. Place your pork in a roasting pan or just on a baking rack. Keep in mind that a lot of fat will be rendered so make sure the pan has some thickness to it.Roast in the oven at 350° F for about 60 minutes until meat is tender and upper crust has formed. If you want more crust, you can place it under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes. Remove and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.Slice thinly and garnish with chopped leeks and serve.

Note:

Another way to eat this is to slice the leeks and place it in between two slices of salted pork with a bit of hoisin sauce. It rivals Peking duck and much easier to make!

Salted Pork Belly - Hakka Style (客家鹹豬肉)

 

Author:

Mike Hsu

Recipe type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Taiwanese

Serves: 4-8

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 60 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Print

 

Authentic hakka style salted pork which can be eaten by itself, used in fried rice, or sandwiched in a bun.

Ingredients

Pork Belly

• 1 ½ - 2 lbs pork belly
• 3 tbsp rice wine
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp crushed Sichuan peppercorns
• ½ tsp Chinese five spice powder

Garnish:

• ¼ cup of chopped leeks

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients
2. Add in the pork belly and massage the meat with the marinade for about 1 minute
3. Put everything in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 2 to 5 days, turning the meat over daily
4. Remove and place on a baking rack with fat side up
5. Roast in the oven at 350° F for about 60 minute until tender
6. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes
7. Slice thinly and garnish with chopped leeks

Notes

Another way to eat this is to slice the leeks and place it in between two slices of salted pork with a bit of hoisin sauce.

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