Today I attempted roasted pork belly again. I won't call it siew yoke since it does not taste like the one sold at chicken rice shops.
Before we start, let me show you what I bought from Shoppee.
This looks like a medieval instrument of torture. Great weapon too. I will throw away my parang and use this instead heh..heh...
Now back to my crispy roast pork belly.
I used one strip of pork belly (400g) and not those big slabs simply because Sanbanto does not supply a bigger cut online. Besides it would be too much for me. So one strip is just nice.
Start off by rinsing and then blanching the pork belly for 5 minutes. This is to get rid of impurities and the porky smell. I failed to do this in my first attempt (yes, there was a porky smell).
Then using that spiky implement, poke the skin. The idea is to poke and create as many holes as possible to assist in creating a super blistered and crispy skin when the pork belly is roasting.
It is rather tricky, this. It takes some practice. After all the poking, some recipes tell to to use the tip of a sharp knife to lightly score the skin. So that's what I did.
I left the pork belly in the fridge overnight. The next day, I took it out from the fridge to stand to room temperature, about one hour. Then using a paper towel, I dabbed the skin to remove excess moisture and also to remove some of the salt.
I had to cut the pork belly into two so that it can fit into my air fryer. I roasted the pork belly at 200C for 30 minutes.
Super crispy skin. However, I am not happy as the texture of the skin could have been better. Need to poke more holes! hah..hah.. Although crispy, the skin was hard ie it was a hard crunch, unlike the one from the chicken rice shop.
But oh my, the flesh was moist, tender and melt in your mouth! Overall this was quite successful with room for improvement.
I did not bother to buy five spice powder just for this attempt because I don't want to be left with excess spices. Just salt as seasoning was good enough.
Recipe source : PH as guided by the many recipes on Youtube
Ingredients :
- One strip pork belly (400g)
- Salt (enough to rub on skin and meat)
Method :
1. Rinse the pork belly and blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes.
2. Remove and rinse under running water. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Using that pokey-pokey tool (what is the proper name, eh?), poke holes on the pork belly skin. The more holes, the better.
4. Then use the tip of a sharp knife to gently score the pork belly skin.
5. Rub lots of salt on the skin. Do not worry about too much salt because the excess salt will be wiped off later.
6. Also rub some salt of the flesh to season it.
7. Then using a strip of aluminum foil, wrap the pork belly but leave the skin exposed.
8. Let the pork belly sit in the fridge overnight to dry out the skin.
9. The next day, take the pork belly out to stand to room temperature 30 min-1 hour.
10. Wipe the skin to remove excess moisture and salt.
11. Roast in the air fryer at 200C for 30 minutes or until the skin becomes crispy and the meat is cooked through.
11. Remove from air fryer and let cool for about 30 minutes before slicing.
Note :
I had to cut the pork belly into two portions to fit into my air fryer.
Yes, I agree....homemade siew yoke won't quite taste like those from the chicken rice shops (which I believe is down to the treatment and seasoning). Even some will have crispy but hard skin. P/S: You said you scored the skin but I don't see it. Try scoring deeper coz some of those I've seen, you can see the scored lines clearly (some even make criss-cross lines). Maybe then you might have a crispier skin. ^_~
ReplyDeleteSure, I will certainly take note to score the skin deeper. I was too afraid that I might score too deeply but clearly from what you described, that's what the shops do.
DeleteIt looks very good!!! I tried a few times but failed - could never get the skin nice and crispy and ended up throwing it away. Air fryer, eh? Maybe my missus would like to try.
ReplyDeleteI am sure your missus will do a really good job using the air fryer.
DeleteWow! Looks so tasty! I have forwarded your post to my spouse to see whether or not he is interested to buy an air fryer to make this siew yoke! Thank you! Did your partner eat some?
ReplyDeletehah..hah..I hope your hubby can make siew yoke for you soon!
DeleteLook good. I haven't try air fryer for pork belly. Will try it out.
ReplyDeletePlease blog about it when you do hee...hee...
DeleteAlthough I've made Siew Yoke several times, I still couldn't get my best version, it was either the texture of the skin or the flavour of the marinade. :(
ReplyDeleteI always put very thick layer of coarse salt on the top before being air fried to prevent the skin too burnt and remove it and let the skin bubbly and crackling.
Oh, I see! Next time I will try using coarse salt.
Delete