Siu Yuk: The Ultimate Roast Pork Indulgence

When it comes to pork, a few dishes in the world might rival the delicious, umami magic of Siu Yuk. Crispy roasted skin and tender, sumptuous pork belly meat; fragrance and flavour accentuated by pepper, vinegar, five-spice powder and Shaoxing wine. Not to be confused with Char Siu, which is another tasty pork special in the Cantonese Siu Lap category, but with an entirely different flavour.

Siu Yuk, simply translated as Crispy Pork Belly, has been enjoyed for hundreds of years, most often with rice and veggie dishes; or cut to small pieces as a meat ingredient for stir-fried delights. But the most common recipe we know of today is actually a variation of Wuxiang Shao Rou or ‘Five-Fragrance Roast Pork’, which has the additional ingredient of maltose. Folk legend has it that a chef discovered the extra crispiness of the pork belly skin when he forgot the maltose one day, and introduced the dish to his restaurant menu. The wondrous, succulent flavour quickly became a darling among his customers and spread into the Chinese household favourite enjoyed to this day. In fact, the dish has become so ubiquitous that you can find it in almost every authentic Chinese restaurant around the world.

And, with a little extra attention to detail, you can easily make it too.

Prep the Meat

Rinse and clean the pork belly, and dry with paper towels. Then use a fork, knife or skewer to poke multiple holes evenly around the skin, but not too deep to the fat and meat. This allows for moisture to escape easily during the roast, and thus avoid unwanted bubbling that can deform the skin.

Marinade

Prep ¼ tbsp five-spice powder, ½ tbsp white pepper, 1 tbsp salt, ½ tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp white vinegar, and coarse salt.

Mix the five-spice powder, white pepper and salt. Next, rub the Shaoxing wine to the pork’s belly bottom, then apply the previous mix thoroughly to the meat area, but keep the skin clean.

Place the pork belly on aluminium foil, and fold up to the sides of meat, but leave the skin fully exposed. Keep it in your fridge to fully marinate and dry for at least 8 hours.

Take it out and let it warm to room temperature for a few minutes. Gently brush the white vinegar onto the skin, then cover it with coarse salt to form a layer.

Bake & Roast

Without removing the aluminium foil, bake the pork belly in your oven at 200°C for 45mins. Take it out, and scrape off the coarse salt layer on the skin.

Unwrap the foil, and transfer the pork belly onto a roasting rack. Use the foil or place a tray below – for catching the excess oil droplets later. Return the pork belly into the oven, and roast for 10mins until the skin turns crispy dry.

Smell the fragrance as you take it out, and let rest for at least 10mins. To cut, gently flip the pork belly on its side, and slice from the meat to the skin. Cut to bite-size pieces for your ultimate succulent enjoyment!

Other Roast Pork Flavours

Want more roast pork yumminess? Try this simpler version by The Style Gene cooked with a turbo boiler, this skewered delight, the Thai and Indonesian versions, as well as our special recipe with oyster sauce; and this unique Filipino dipping sauce specially made for roast pork.