Crispy Thai pork belly
Crunchy crackling, sticky tamarind glaze and fragrant garlic — a showstopping Thai-style pork belly to roast for dinner.
This is pork belly with properly explosive crackling and a sticky Thai-style tamarind glaze — the best of punchy, sweet and savoury in one roast. It needs a bit of patience (an overnight chill), but the result is dramatic and worth the slight faff.
Make it for a weekend dinner or when you want to impress: serve with steamed jasmine rice, quick pickles or a simple cucumber salad. The glaze brings Thai brightness while the long roast renders the fat and gives a satisfyingly shattering crackle.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg pork belly, skin on
- 30 ml flaky sea salt
- 5 ml baking powder
- 200 ml boiling water
- 70 g palm sugar — total for marinade and glaze
- 45 ml fish sauce — total for marinade and glaze
- 15 ml light soy sauce
- 5 garlic cloves — minced, total for marinade and glaze
- 5 ml white pepper — ground
- 15 ml vegetable oil
- 20 g tamarind paste
- 5 ml dried chilli flakes
- 1 lime — juice for glaze and a little zest for finishing
- 10 g fresh coriander — to garnish
- 2 spring onions — finely sliced for garnish
- 15 ml sesame seeds — toasted, for garnish
Equipment
- roasting rack
- baking tray
- small saucepan
- sharp chef's knife
- kitchen thermometer
Instructions
Trim any ragged edges of the pork belly so it sits flat. Using a very sharp knife, score the skin in parallel lines about 5 mm apart, cutting only through the skin and into the fat — do not cut into the meat.
Pour the boiling water evenly over the skin to tighten it and remove loose scum. Pat the skin dry thoroughly with kitchen paper and leave the pork on a board to cool slightly.
Mix the flaky sea salt with the baking powder and rub this mixture into the scored skin so it gets into the cuts. In a bowl mix the fish sauce, light soy sauce, half the palm sugar (35 g), minced 3 garlic cloves, white pepper and vegetable oil. Turn the pork so the meat side faces up and rub the marinade over the meat only; keep the skin dry and dusted with the salt mixture. Place the pork on a plate or tray, leave it uncovered in the fridge and chill for 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C conventional. Put the pork, skin-side up, on a roasting rack set over a baking tray to catch fat. Roast for 90 minutes to render the fat and start the skin puffing.
Increase the oven to 220°C fan/240°C conventional and roast for a further 30 minutes to dry and crisp the skin. Watch the skin during this period; if any area is browning too fast, turn the tray or move the pork slightly away from the hot element.
While the pork roasts, make the glaze: put the remaining palm sugar (35 g), tamarind paste, the rest of the fish sauce, minced 2 garlic cloves, dried chilli flakes and the juice and 1/2 tsp zest of the lime into a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and bubble gently until syrupy, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Brush the glaze over the meat side (not the skin) and return the pork to the oven or under the grill for 3–5 minutes to set and caramelise the glaze. Keep a close eye so it doesn't burn.
Remove the pork from the oven and transfer to a board. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing — this lets the juices redistribute and makes slicing neater.
Slice the pork into thick strips with the skin intact. Scatter with chopped spring onions, torn fresh coriander and toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice and quick pickled cucumber if you like.
Tips
- Scoring is about shallow fine cuts — go slowly and only through skin and fat. Deeper cuts ruin the meat.
- Chill uncovered in the fridge for at least 8–12 hours to dry the skin; the longer the better for crackling.
- Use a roasting rack so fat drains away; pooled fat steams the underside and softens the crackle.
- If parts of the skin refuse to puff, a very short blast under the grill will do it — but watch every second to avoid burning.
- Make the glaze ahead and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days; gently rewarm before using.
Substitutions
palm sugar → soft brown sugar, same weight
Stays closelight soy sauce → tamari (gluten-free), same volume
Stays closetamarind paste → 2 tbsp lime juice plus 1 tbsp extra palm sugar, to approximate the sour-sweet depth
Noticeably differentfish sauce → soy sauce for a vegetarian option (use 45 ml) — note the dish will lose some of its authentic umami
Noticeably different
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 1610
- Calories
- 28 g
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 159 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 18 g
- Sugar
- 1600 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Why must the pork chill uncovered in the fridge?
Uncovered chilling dries the skin surface so it can puff and crackle in the oven. Covering traps moisture and prevents crackling.
My crackling didn’t puff — what went wrong?
Common causes: skin not dry enough, cuts too deep, oven too low during the final blast, or the pork was crowded on the tray. Try a short grill burst, but watch for burning.
Can I make this ahead?
You can roast the pork, cool, and refrigerate. Reheat in a hot oven to restore crispness and reheat the glaze briefly. Cooked pork keeps 2–3 days in the fridge.
Is the glaze spicy?
It’s mildly spicy from dried chilli flakes; adjust to taste or use fresh sliced chillies for more heat.
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