The Best Chinese Crispy Pork Belly Recipe (Air Fry Method)

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Using an air fryer is the easiest way to roast a crispy pork belly because the circulation is efficient and constantly draws out moisture from the skin while cooking. This recipe requires no blanching, no marinating overnight, no poking holes, and no dehydrating the skin. The prepping literally takes 5 minutes and guarantees the best crispy result.

If you ask me, “Can I do this in a regular oven?,” the answer is yes but I didn’t include it in this book. However, you can check this video for the demo (   • THE SECRET TO CRUNCHY CRISPY PORK BELLY RE...  ). Using an oven will be more complicated because the air circulation is not as good as an air fryer. That's why extra steps like blanching, poking holes, dehydrating the skin, and adding baking powder are required when using an oven.

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

454g / 1 pound skin-on pork belly
3.8g / ⅔ tsp salt
2.1g / ½ tsp sugar
1.2g / ½ tsp ground black pepper (Amazon Link - https://geni.us/black-peppercorns)
1.5g / ½ tsp garlic powder (Amazon Link - https://geni.us/garlic-powder)
1g / ½ tsp five-spice powder (Amazon Link - https://geni.us/five-spice-powder)
0.7g / ⅛ tsp salt to rub the pork skin
27g / 1.5 Tbsps plum sauce for dipping (Amazon Link - https://geni.us/plum-sauce)
19g / 1.5 Tbsps sugar for dipping

INSTRUCTIONS

Take a sharp knife to score the meat side of the pork belly without cutting through the skin.

Thoroughly combine the salt, sugar, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and five-spice powder in a bowl. These measurements are for every pound of meat, so you can adjust the amount by multiplying however many pounds of pork you are making.
 
Place the pork belly skin side down and then sprinkle the seasoning mix all over the meat. Make sure you open the cut surfaces and rub well. Chef’s Secret: Avoid touching the skin because this will cause the spices to burn while roasting and affect the presentation.

Flip the pork to the skin side up and rub it with a pinch of salt for a few minutes or until the salt draws some moisture out of the skin. Use a paper towel to wipe the moisture.

Wrap the pork belly with tinfoil but keep the skin exposed.

Set the air fryer at 250°F / 121°C without preheating and cook the pork belly for 1 hour.

Increase the temperature to 400°F / 204°C and fry for 10-15 minutes or until the skin is crispy and golden brown. Every air fryer is different, so please keep an eye on it. Feel free to pull out the basket and check the doneness. Adjust the frying time if needed.

Cut the crispy pork belly into bite-size pieces and serve with plum sauce or white sugar. Chef’s Secret: These are two classic dipping components for crispy pork belly. The plum sauce tastes sweet and sour, perfectly balancing the pork belly's heaviness. Eating pork belly with white sugar is more of a local Cantonese habit. The sugar crystal enhances the crispy texture and the sweetness is such a surprising fit with the taste of the roasted pork.