Crispy Five Spice Pork Belly: A Perfectly Seasoned, Mouth-Watering Delight
Bring the flavours of Asian cuisine into your kitchen with Crispy Five Spice Pork Belly, a dish that combines tender, juicy pork with a crisp, crackling skin and a fragrant five-spice seasoning. This classic recipe is simple to make using the Instant Pot and air fryer, ensuring perfectly cooked pork belly with minimal effort. The five-spice blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel gives the pork a warm, aromatic flavour that pairs beautifully with the rich, savoury meat.
Preparing this dish is as straightforward as it is rewarding. Start by seasoning the pork belly generously with five-spice powder and a touch of salt to enhance its natural flavours. The Instant Pot makes quick work of the initial cooking phase, tenderising the meat so it’s succulent and ready for the final crisping step. Transfer it to the air fryer to achieve a beautifully crunchy crackling, delivering the perfect contrast to the tender interior.
Serve Crispy Five Spice Pork Belly with steamed rice, fresh vegetables, or a tangy dipping sauce to balance the rich flavours. This dish is ideal for a special dinner or as part of an impressive spread for family and friends. With its tantalising aroma, crispy texture, and deep, warming spices, this pork belly is sure to become a favourite addition to your recipe collection.
Vortex Plus Dual Drawer Air Fryer
Ingredients
Spice mix
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp 5 spice
- ¼ tsp white pepper
Pork Belly
- 900 g boneless pork belly
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 50-70 g coarse salt
Charred Sesame Broccoli
-
- 350 g tender stem broccoli
- 1 tsp Canola oil
- 2 Tsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp Toasted Black sesame seeds
- Salt to taste
- For serving,
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the spice mix ingredients together. Place the pork belly on a chopping board, skin side down and lightly score the meat about half a centimetre deep, at one-centimetre intervals. Rub the spice mix into the meat, massaging into the cuts. Should any spice mix touch the skin, wipe it off with a paper towel.
- Flip the pork belly so the skin side is now facing up and use a sharp metal skewer to prick the pork skin lightly all over (do not pierce too deep). This is a crucial step to ensure the skin puffs during cooking. The more pricks you can make, the puffier the crackling will be, so take your time. Then, put the pork belly into the fridge, uncovered, overnight.
- Once ready to cook, place a large piece of heavy duty tinfoil on a surface. Fold it in half to strengthen it. Place the pork into the middle of the foil and fold the foil into a snug shape around the belly meat. Fold and pinch the tinfoil as needed to secure the cooking juices, and ensure the foil doesn’t reach up over the pork skin. Once complete the belly meat will be snugly wrapped in a foil tray, leaving the crackling exposed.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the vinegar over the pork skin, then cover the skin in a layer of coarse sea salt. Do not let salt touch the meat, as it can become too salty. Carefully the lower the pork belly into Drawer 1 of your Air Fryer.
- Select Roast on this drawer and set the temperature to 160°C and the time to either 40 or 50 minutes – For a thin belly, choose 40 minutes, but a thicker belly choose 50 minutes.
- Whilst the pork belly roasts, prepare your sesame broccoli. Wash the tenderstem and removing any stray leaves, then toss in a little vegetable oil. Season the broccoli with a pinch of salt.
- When the pork has finished roasting, check that the meat in soft and tender, and then lift the salt layer from the skin to expose the crackling, and close the drawer again.
- Place the prepared tenderstem broccoli into the second drawer.
- On drawer 1 (pork) select Air Fry and set the temperature to 205°C and time to 15 minutes. On drawer 2 (broccoli) select Grill, and set the temperature to 205°C and time to 5 minutes. Select SyncFinish to ensure both drawers finish at the same time.
- Once cooked, the pork should have a crispy puffed skin and the broccoli should be just tender with a little bite, and some charring. Remove both from the drawers and set the pork aside in a warm spot for a quick rest before carving. Drizzle the sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds over the broccoli.
- Plate up your sesame broccoli alongside some steamed rice. Cut the pork belly into bite size pieces and serve immediately.
Notes
If using a Single Drawer Vortex: Cook the pork as above. Once cooked, place the pork in a warm place, and pop the broccoli into the Vortex to grill as instructed.