Airfry roasted pork belly (siu yuk) 烧肉 recipe

Roasted pork belly in Chinese style (aka siu yuk) is one of the food I’d love to make with my new Philips Airfryer. In fact, it was probably one of the reasons I bought an airfryer. Roasted pork belly is my all time favourite. Who doesn’t like the crackling skin? However, making them in an oven is quite messy which requires a lot of cleaning later on. I was hoping there would be less cleaning with an airfryer and taste as good if not better. 

The airfryer worked really well. The crackling pork belly was not only crispy on the skin but surprisingly juicy on the meat. So that’s a tick. However, I got to admit that it left a lot of oil and food residue in my airfryer after cooking. Besides that, due to the high fat content in the pork belly, the airfryer released a lot of smoke too when airfrying. Luckily, my airfryer was placed near the cooking hood. The ventilation fan was turned on all the time during the cooking. Otherwise, my house would smell like a BBQ pit. Overall, I think it’s still easier to clean an airfryer than an oven. Hence, I’d use it to make my yummy siu yuk again! 

Recipe:

1kg Pork belly

Vinegar (to brush on the skin) 

Coarse sea salt (enough to fully cover the skin)

Aluminium foil

Marinade: 

1 tablespoon shao xing cooking wine

1/4 teaspoon White pepper

1/2 tablespoon five spice powder

1 teaspoon salt

Note: The amount of marinade is estimated only. Adjust accordingly. 

1. Wash the pork belly with water and pat dry it with towel papers. 

2. Rub the shao xing cooking wine evenly on the meat of the pork belly only (strictly NOT on the skin). 

3. Repeat step #2 with white pepper, five spice powder and lastly salt. 

4. Place the pork belly skin side up on a plate and store it in the fridge overnight without any cover. This is a process to dry up the skin to achieve the cracking skin later on. 

5. Remove the pork belly from the fridge. Prick all over the surface of the pork belly skin with a sharp object (skewer/knife). Try to make as many small holes as possible but avoid pricking too deep into the meat. 

6. Lay the pork belly skin side up on a large sheet of aluminium foil (sufficient to wrap the pork belly). Wrap the pork belly tightly with the aluminium foil around the sides with only the skin exposed. The sides of the aluminium foil should be slightly higher than the pork belly so that it can hold the coarse sea salt in the next step. 

7. Lightly brush the skin with vinegar. Cover the pork belly fully with coarse sea salt until you can't see the skin. 

8. Place it in the basket of the airfryer. Airfry for about 25-30mins in a pre-heated airfryer at 180c.

9. Remove the pork belly from the airfryer. Gently remove the aluminium foil and scrap off the layer of coarse sea salt. 

10. Increase the airfryer temperature to 200c. Return the pork belly into the airfryer. Airfry at 200c for another 10-15mins or until the skin is crackling. 

11. Cut the pork belly and serve. 

Note: Adjust the cooking time accordingly as the size and thickness of the pork belly is different. 

Refer to the following video for the steps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr6xswgiIyA