Air-fryer five-spice roasted pork belly

Dan Hong uses this popular kitchen appliance to make the crispiest pork belly, scented with Chinese five-spice and Shaoxing wine.

Credit: Adrian Patra

• serves

  2-4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 700g - 1kg pork belly, skin-on, dried in the fridge overnight (uncovered)
• Salt, for the salt crust
• Vegetable oil

Marinade

• 1 tbsp table salt
• 1 tsp white sugar
• ¼ tsp five-spice powder
• 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine

To serve

• 2 tbsp English mustard
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce

Drying out time: overnight

Instructions

1. Place the pork into a container that fits it snugly. Leave it, uncovered, in the fridge overnight to dry out the rind.
   
2. The next day, use a metal skewer to pierce shallow holes in the pork skin, avoiding piercing into the flesh.
   
3. Combine the salt, 5-spice, sugar and Chinese wine, to form a paste. Coat the pork, except for the skin, in the marinade. Avoid getting any moisture on the skin.
   
4. Place the pork on a large piece of foil, and fold the edges of the foil up, around the pork. Keep a few centimetres between the pork and the foil, leaving the skin uncovered. Rub the skin in vegetable oil, and coat generously with salt to make a salt crust.
   
5. Set the air fryer to 200°C. Cook the pork for 20 minutes. Turn down to 140°C and cook for a further 15 minutes. If you’re using an oven cook at 240°C for 20-30 minutes before reducing to 140°C for a further 15 minutes.
   
6. Scrape the top layer of salt and any charred edges off the crackling. Leave the pork to rest for 5-10 minutes.
   
7. Remove the bottom layer of the pork. Flip the pork skin-side down on a chopping board and slice into squares. Place on a serving platter, and serve with hot English mustard and hoisin sauce.

This recipe is from The Streets, Hong Kong on SBS Food.

Photography by Adrian Patra.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.