This pan-fried pork belly recipe promises a juicy and satisfying crackly pork belly. You don’t need a lot of ingredients to make this, just green onions, ginger, cooking wine, and salt for the boiling step. After that, simply pan-fry the pork belly in oil and dip it in your favorite dipping sauce or powdered seasoning for extra flavor.
What Is Pan Fried Pork Belly?
Pork belly is a must-have dish in Chinese cuisine. It is a part of the pig’s stomach that is boneless with fatty layers. You will love its juicy fatty layer and tender salty meat.
It is popularly made to have a puffy and bubbly skin for that satisfying crunchy texture. You can pan-fry, bake, roast, or air-fry pork belly. In this recipe, the pork belly slabs are first pre-boiled with chopped green onions, ginger, cooking wine, and salt.
Afterward, it is pan-fried on low heat until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Enjoy its natural salty flavors or dip it in your favorite dipping sauce or seasoning such as chili flakes. If you want to explore more pork belly recipes, check out these delicious pork belly variations:
- Chinese Cured Pork Belly (Lap Yuk/Chinese Bacon)
- Air-Fried Crispy Pork Belly
- Air Fryer Pork Belly With Potatoes
- Crispy Pork Belly (Burger)
- Cantonese Roast Pork Belly
- Pork Belly Char Siew
- Kimchi Pork Belly Stir-fry
Recipe Tips And Alternatives To Consider
First time making pork belly? Check out my tips and recommendations below to learn how to make this recipe better. It is easy to swap or alter the ingredients according to your taste and preference.
- Pork belly: Always pick the freshest pork belly to achieve quality results. You can buy pork belly in slabs or thin strips. Choose pork belly with whitish pork fat that is not gray or yellow. Moreover, make sure to pick a cut with even thickness to cook it consistently in the pan.
- Cleaning the pork belly: You can remove foul odor from the pork belly by rubbing it with salt or vinegar and then rinsing it with water. In this recipe, another way to clean and remove impurities is by boiling it first with green onions, ginger, cooking wine, and salt. This method not only cleans the pork belly but also helps tenderize its meat for a better texture.
- Green onions: Boiling the pork belly with green onions adds a mild sweet onion taste. You do not need to chop the green onions since they can be added as a whole stalk. This can be replaced with other similar onions, such as chives or spring onions.
- Ginger: Another flavoring ingredient for the meat is ginger. Ginger enhances the meat with its earthy and peppery taste. You can swap fresh ginger with ground ginger by using 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground ginger for every 1 tbsp of fresh ginger. In this way, you can still get the taste of ginger despite not having fresh ginger.
- Salt: Salt helps boost the taste of the flavoring ingredients. This also adds a salty taste to the meat. Use any type of salt, such as sea salt, pink salt, and kosher salt.
- Cooking wine: The ingredient that cleanses the meat and removes bad odor is cooking wine or Shaoxing wine. Plus, it is the key ingredient in tenderizing the meat while keeping it moist. When it comes to taste, cooking wine lends a slightly sweet and briny taste. You can replace this with cooking sake, dry sherry, red wine vinegar, or alcohol-free wine. For extra flavor but non-alcohol, use meat or vegetable broth. Simply omit cooking from the ingredients if you can’t consume alcohol.
- Achieving a better crispy texture: Pan-frying the boiled pork belly already gives a crunchy texture and puffy appearance. But if you want to achieve an even better crispier texture and more bubbly finish, here are some tips and tricks to do it. It may not be as puffy as the oven or air-fried method, but it works to enhance the texture and make it better.
- Poke holes in the skin: Use a toothpick to poke holes into the skin. In this way, it makes the skin more bubbly and puffy when pan-fried. With a bubbly finish, the texture is even crispier in every bite!
- Brush the skin with vinegar: Brushing the skin with vinegar dries it out quickly. When you have dry pork belly skin, it makes it easier and quicker to crisp up. Not only does this make the skin crispy, but it also helps remove foul odor.
- Sprinkle some rock salt on top: After brushing the skin with vinegar, you can also sprinkle a dash of rock salt to draw out moisture. Removing as much moisture as you can from the skin ensures a crispy texture. I recommend rock salt so that you can easily scrape it off and the skin does not absorb it entirely. Otherwise, the pork belly might become too salty.
- Serving suggestions: Pork belly is already good on its own, but you can add more variety of flavor with your choice of dipping sauce or powdered seasoning. In the recipe video, I dipped the fried pork belly with chili flakes for a smoky taste and mild crunch. I served it with a lettuceleaf for additional fiber. If you prefer a dipping sauce, the most classic sauce for pork belly is barbecue sauce. For something sweet and savory, dip the pork belly in hoisin sauce. You can also dip it in sweet chili sauce, soy sauce with honey, fish sauce, ketchup, peanut sauce, and chipotle crema.
- Optional marinade: Marinating the pork belly slabs before pan-frying is a great way to add a deeper flavor and a more intense color to the meat. Here are some marinade options to try and adjust to taste:
- For a quick marinade, mix barbecue seasoning, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce and adjust to taste.
- For a more in-depth marinade, mix scallions, ginger, cooking wine, oyster sauce, black or white pepper powder, light soy sauce, sesame seeds, and barbecue sauce. Adjust to taste.
How To Store And Reheat Pan Fried Pork Belly
Cooked leftover pork belly can be kept in the fridge for three to four days as long as it is stored in an airtight container. You can extend its shelf life in the freezer. However, the quality of the meat will deteriorate the longer it stays in the freezer.
When you are ready to eat it again, I suggest reheating it in the pan to revive its crispy texture. You can also reheat it in an air fryer at 375°F for about five minutes. I do not recommend reheating in the microwave since it will make the texture soggy and soft.
Ingredients And Kitchenware For Pan Fried Pork Belly
Use a cooking pot for boiling and a non-stick pan for pan-frying. I recommend a non-stick pan to ensure the crispy texture is retained and won’t stick to the pan, which may cause it to burn. Other basic kitchen tools to prepare are a cleaver for easy chopping and a lid to cover the pan.
The ingredients to prepare are:
- 1 kg of pork belly
- 1 stalk of green onions
- 2 slices of ginger
- 50ml of cooking wine
- 3 tsp of salt
- 1000ml of water
- Optional for flavor: chili flakes, lettuce leaves, or your favorite dipping sauce
3 Steps To Make Pan-Fried Pork Belly
Boil, pan-fry, and chop – it’s that simple! After these easy steps, all you have to do is enjoy it with a dipping sauce or powdered seasoning. Pair it with a side dish, such as steamed cabbage rolls in savory sauce or traditional Chinese egg fried rice (蛋炒饭).
Watch how I made this recipe with my short tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok. Do you have tips and suggestions for this recipe? Leave a comment in the comments section to share them with me and fellow readers.
- Start by filling your pot with cold water. Place the pork belly in the pot along with green onions, ginger slices, cooking wine, and a pinch of salt. Boil the pork belly in the pot for 30 minutes. Afterward, remove the pork belly and pat dry. This is also the step where you can poke holes, brush with vinegar, and sprinkle rock salt before pan-frying for a crispier texture.
- Pan-fry the drained pork belly on low heat until all sides are golden and crispy. No need to add oil to the pan since the pork belly is full of fat already and will melt as it heats. Make sure to cover the pot with a lid to avoid splattering and to heat the pork belly all throughout. Aside from pan-frying, you can also air-fry the pork belly by following my recipes for air-fried crispy pork belly or air fryer pork belly with potatoes.
- Drain the excess fat from the crispy pork belly and chop it into small pieces. You can chop the pork belly into 1 to 2 cm thick slices. Dip it in your preferred powdered seasoning or dipping sauce.
Pan Fried Pork Belly Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg of pork belly
- 1 stalk of green onions
- 2 slices of ginger
- 50 ml of cooking wine
- 3 tsp of salt
- 1000 ml of water
- Optional for flavor: chili flakes lettuce leaves, or your favorite dipping sauce
Instructions
- Start by filling your pot with cold water. Place the pork belly in the pot along with green onions, ginger slices, cooking wine, and a pinch of salt. Boil the pork belly in the pot for 30 minutes. Afterward, remove the pork belly and pat dry. This is also the step where you can poke holes, brush with vinegar, and sprinkle rock salt before pan-frying for a crispier texture.
- Pan-fry the drained pork belly on low heat until all sides are golden and crispy. No need to add oil to the pan since the pork belly is full of fat already and will melt as it heats. Make sure to cover the pot with a lid to avoid splattering and to heat the pork belly all throughout. Aside from pan-frying, you can also air-fry the pork belly by following my recipes for air-fried crispy pork belly or air fryer pork belly with potatoes.
- Drain the excess fat from the crispy pork belly and chop it into small pieces. You can chop the pork belly into 1 to 2 cm thick slices. Dip it in your preferred powdered seasoning or dipping sauce.
