Slow-roasted pork belly recipe

Preheat the oven to 110°C.

Wash the pork belly and pat dry. Place in a heavy baking dish, skin down, and add the water. Spread a thin film of sauce evenly over the pork and sprinkle with the garlic–ginger mixture. Cover loosely with aluminium foil.

Over the next 4 hours, the pork will rise like a soufflé, releasing some of its fat.

Eventually it will collapse into a gelatinous, soft texture, redolent of Chinese flavours.

Serve the pork belly with a salad of thinly sliced cabbage dressed with a little balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of the pork cooking juices. Cucumber is also nice and refreshing, and steamed rice makes a good starch accompaniment to mop up the juices.

SBS cook’s notes 


This recipe has been reproduced with minor SBS recipe style changes. | Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20ml; 1 cup equals 250ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55–60g, unless specified.



Recipe from Modern Italian Food by Stefano de Pieri, with photographs by Earl Carter. Published by Hardie Grant Books.