No oven, no long drying in the fridge. The skin crisps because the slab is steamed first, which sets the fat and dries the surface, then pierced and fried under a lid so the heat stays trapped. The dip is built from the same bean paste that seasons the pan.
Chinese · Main
Skillet Crispy Pork Belly With a Chilli Bean Dipping Sauce
A slab of pork belly steams for twenty minutes, gets its skin pricked all over and finishes skin side down in a covered pan, with a sharp bean paste dip alongside.
- Prep10 min
- Cook35 min
- Serves4
- LevelMedium
Ingredients
| 1200 g | pork belly , one thick slab, skin on |
| 2 tbsp | chilli bean paste , Doubanjiang with red oil |
| 2 tbsp | oyster sauce |
| 2 tbsp | ketchup |
| 2 tbsp | sweet bean sauce |
| 1 tbsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tbsp | white sesame seeds |
| 3 cloves | garlic , minced |
| 1 tbsp | cornstarch , mixed with 3 tbsp water |
| 1 tbsp | cooking oil , for the sauce |
Method
- Steam the pork belly over boiling water for 20 minutes. It is ready when a chopstick pushes through the thickest part with no resistance.
- Lift it out and pat the skin completely dry, then prick it all over with a skewer, going through the skin but not into the meat.
- Set the slab skin side down in a cold, lightly oiled frying pan, cover with a lid and cook over medium low heat for 12 to 15 minutes. The lid keeps the spitting contained and steams the meat side through.
- Turn it over and fry the flesh side for 3 to 4 minutes, until both faces are deeply golden. Move it to a board and rest for 5 minutes.
- Mix the bean paste, ketchup, sweet bean sauce, cumin, sesame seeds and oyster sauce in a bowl.
- Heat the oil in a small pan, fry the garlic for 20 seconds, then add the sauce mix and cook for a minute until it smells toasted.
- Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer until the dip coats a spoon.
- Cut the rested pork into thick slices and serve with the warm dip.
Notes
- Dry the skin properly before pricking. Any surface water turns to steam in the pan and the crackling goes leathery.
- Keep the lid on for the skin side. It is the only way to crisp the skin without an oven or a deep fryer.
- Rest the slab before slicing; cutting it straight from the pan lets the juice run out and leaves the meat dry.
Ratios and technique checked against 个性胜过姿色 on Douguo (脆皮五花肉 平底锅版). The method here is written by Stellaok; the photograph is the source kitchen's, credited on the image above and linked back to the page it came from. No recipe text is reproduced.