Pork Belly, for most Asians, is the most tender and delicious part of the pig. When cooked right, it becomes some sort of “melts in your mouth meat-chocolate with crispy goodness” that will surely stimulate your senses. There are various techniques on how to achieve this state of “Pork Haven” but only a few actually work. In Asian countries, most households do not have ovens. We solely rely on stove-tops for our cooking needs and this might alienate our Western friends.
Western techniques taught us that to achieve “Pork Haven” status, we need to brown the meat, crisp the skin then shove it in the oven. Most Asians do otherwise.
For me, the most effective way of cooking pork belly is by way of “Deep Frying/Frying”. It might sound simple but as always there will be a certain difficulty towards the end. Let us begin:
The Perfect Pork Belly (This is not a recipe but a cooking method)
- Prepare your Pork Belly (chop it up and clean it. It’s up to you)
- Boil pork belly in flavorful liquid (this could be composed of herbs, spices or just plain salt and pepper). Do this until our belly is tender.
- Dry your Pork Belly (Slightly pat with paper towels to reduce moisture)
- Prepare your frying oil (palm oil works best). You can either deep fry this or pan fry it if you don’t have a deep casserole.
- Heat oil (don’t let it smoke, that indicates it’s burning point)
- Fry your Pork Bellies until brown or desired color
- To finish (sprinkle cold water on the belly skin, this will create a pop which adds texture to our belly. Be CAREFUL!)
I’m telling you, this goes very well with Alcoholic beverages, specially beer.
Daily dose of life 