Sio Bak (Chinese Roasted Pork) Recipe

Sio Bak Recipe (3 July 2013)


Sio Bak , or Chinese Roasted Pork is a popular dish among the Chinese in Penang. To be honest, I wasn't really fond of Sio Bak when I was small, but then grew to love it as a grown up. The secret to good Sio Bak is to ensure that you get the skin very, very crispy, while the meat itself soft, juicy and not dry. It is important that you do not make the skin too hard, and I will explain how you can avoid this shortly.

The taste of your Sio Bak is dependent, to a great extend, on your marinade, which is in fact quite easy to prepare.

Many people pay a handsome amount of money for just a small piece of Sio Bak, when they can make it themselves for just a fraction of the cost.

Ingredients

- 600g pork belly

Marinade
- 1 piece of red taujoo (fermented beancurd)
- 1/2 teaspoon of five spice powder
- 1 tablespoon of garlic, chopped finely
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the skin
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon salt

Steps

- First of all, mix the ingredients for the marinade together.

- Put the pork belly in a pot, with the skin facing down, add water and bring it to a boil. Then lower the heat and allow the meat to simmer for about 10 minutes before turning off the heat and allowing the meat to continue soaking in the water for a further 15 minutes. Take the meat out and dry it with kitchen towel.

- Score the meat side and then rub the marinade all over the pork belly.

- On the skin side, rub the vinegar on the skin, followed by rubbing it with salt. Dry the meat again with kitchen towel.

- Use something sharp - a pin mallet, a bundle of pins or a fork - to prick the skin. Take care to prick only the skin and not deeper than the skin, as this will result in the skin being hard and will not fluff up when you roast it. The pricking is to ensure that when roasted, the skin will become beautifully crispy.

- Wrap the meat side of the pork belly with aluminium foil, but leave the skin side exposed. Put it in your fridge, preferably overnight, or at least 6 hours, to ensure that the meat fully dries up. (It's not a dish that you can complete within one session.)

- Take the pork belly out of fridge, and leave it to warm up for about half an hour.

- Heat up your oven, with top and bottom heat, at 200°C. Remove the aluminium foil and brush the skin of the pork belly with cooking oil. Place the pork belly in your oven with the skin side up, and roast it for 45 minutes.

- After 45 minutes, use only the top heat and increase it to 250°C. Roast for another 20-25 minutes, so that the skin crackles. You should be able to hear the crackling sound, and see that the skin of your pork belly is turning into a golden brown.

- Take the pork belly out of the oven. Use a sharp knife to scrape away any bits that are charred. Leave the pork belly to cool down, then chop it up into bite-size pieces, and your Sio Bak is ready to be enjoyed.

Sio Bak Recipe (3 July 2013)


The secret to crispy Sio Bak is this kitchen tool. We use it to punch the skin of the pork belly. My wife bought by the road side at Chowrasta Market.

Sio Bak Recipe (19 July 2017)

19 July, 2017

We enjoyed eating Sio Bak so much that my wife decided to make it again for our dinner tonight.

Sio Bak Recipe (19 July 2017)


Sio Bak Recipe (19 July 2017)


Sio Bak Recipe (19 July 2017)


Sio Bak Recipe (19 July 2017)
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