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Posted on 12th Jul 2025

Festive Crispy Pork Belly

Looking for a new take on pork belly? Think delicious crispy crackling and succulent Chinese-style roast pork full of flavour with this sure-to-impress recipe.

Cuisine

Time

3 hr 25 mins mins

Servings

4 people people

Most popular
recipe

Ingredients

  • 500g pork belly (1 piece)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1–2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice

The Base

  • 1-2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 1 onion / red onion, roughly chopped
  • 2-3 mandarins / clementines, sliced in half
  • 2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 2-3 Star anise
  • 1 Cinnamon stick

Method

1. Place the pork belly piece skin-side down in a large saucepan and cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes before removing the meat from the pan. (Some scum may form on the top of the water; it is just some of the impurities and excess fat the pork holds within its skin and will be discarded once the pork is blanched.)

2. Remove the meat from the pan and run under cold water to cool. Once cool, pat the skin dry with kitchen paper and score gently using the tip of a sharp knife in diagonal ‘criss-cross’ cuts along the top of the skin, trying to only open up the fat and not cut into the meat itself.

3. Dry the skin with kitchen paper once more and rub the salt into it. Rub the five-spice onto the sides and bottom of the meat only, not the skin.

4. Place all “The Base” ingredients into a roasting tray and then place the pork skin side up on top of them.

High quality products

Pestle and mortar Pestle and mortar

£35.00

Bamboo Chopsticks (12322019) Bamboo Chopsticks (12322019)

£12.00