Nutmeg Free Crispy Pork Belly (Siu Yuk)
Few dishes deliver the kind of dramatic, shatteringly crisp skin that this Cantonese-style roasted pork belly is known for — and the technique here is genuinely foolproof once you understand the why behind each step. The overnight salt crust draws out moisture from the skin, the vinegar-and-baking-soda wash primes it for blistering, and a final blast of high heat turns the whole surface into a golden, bubbling crackle that snaps when you cut through it. Underneath, the meat is deeply savory and tender, perfumed with five-spice, white pepper, and garlic-infused oil in a marinade that stays entirely off the skin so nothing interferes with that crust. The ingredient list is clean and straightforward — tamari, pantry spices, and a good slab of skin-on pork belly are really all you need. For anyone avoiding warm baking spices like nutmeg, this recipe is a natural fit: five-spice powder delivers all the aromatic depth you want without it, and every other component is equally simple and easy to verify. Serve it sliced into thick pieces with a little tamari for dipping and a scatter of fresh scallion greens, and it looks like something that took serious skill — even though most of the work happens in the refrigerator overnight.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the pork
- 2 ½ lb skin-on pork belly, in one slab
For the marinade
- 1 tbsp garlic-infused oil
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 1 tsp five-spice powder
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp fine salt
For the skin
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp coarse sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
For serving
- 3 stalks scallion, green tops only, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 tbsp tamari, for dipping (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Pat the pork belly completely dry with paper towels. Using a sharp skewer, fork, or the tip of a paring knife, poke the skin all over — aim for at least 50–60 punctures across the entire surface, going no deeper than the fat layer beneath the skin. This is the most important step for achieving a bubbly, crackling crust.
- 2
Flip the pork belly skin-side down. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic-infused oil, tamari, five-spice powder, white pepper, sugar, and fine salt until combined. Rub this marinade evenly over the meat and fat sides only — keep it off the skin entirely.
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