Crispy skin pork (Siu yuk)

Crispy skin pork is one of the best-known barbecued meat dishes (sui mei) in Hong Kong and around the world. This recipe uses an oven to prepare the pork, a simpler method for home cooks. Try to buy pork belly with thin skin as this will give a much crisper crackling that isn't too hard.

Siu yuk (Crispy skin pork) Credit: Alana Dimou

• serves

  8

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 70 g fine sea salt
• 1.2 kg boneless pork belly

Marinade

• 1 tbsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice
• 1 tbsp roughly chopped garlic
• 4 cm piece ginger, roughly chopped
• 3–4 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

Skin

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp fine sea salt

Sauce

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce

You will need to start this recipe a day ahead.

Brining time: 2 hours

Marinating time: 24 hours

Resting time: 20 minutes

Instructions

1. Dissolve the salt in 1.2 litres water in a plastic container, then add the pork (you want it to be fully submerged) and set aside for 2 hours. Remove the pork and give it a quick rinse under water. Pat dry and scrape off any hair.
2. To make the marinade, mix all the ingredients together in a 30 cm x 25 cm baking tray. Place the pork belly on top of the marinade, meat side down. Pat the skin dry with paper towel, making sure none of the marinade touches it. Transfer the pork to the fridge and marinate, uncovered, for 24 hours to let the skin dry off.
3. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
4. To prepare the pork skin, rub the oil over the skin and sprinkle evenly with the salt.
5. Roast for 15 minutes, then increase the temperature to 180°C and cook for a further 20 minutes. Crank up the oven to 250°C or the highest possible temperature for a final 5–10 minutes, keeping an eye on the pork to ensure the skin doesn't burn – you want it to be golden and bubbling up to a nice crackling.
6. To make the sauce, mix together the mustard and hoisin sauce.
7. Remove the pork from the oven and rest for 20 minutes, then cut off the side and bottom of the pork, which will have dried out and blackened. Cut into pieces and serve with the sauce.

 

Hong Kong Local by ArChan Chan, published by Smith Street Books (RRP $39.99). Photography by Alana Dimou.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.