Crispy Chinese Pork
July 9th 2009 22:00
Having lived in Asia, I’ve been (blessedly) exposed to a variety of very good Asian food. The barbecue/roast meat dishes are among some of the food that I remember – not only for its very graphic display in restaurant-deli windows but also the aromas of the spices used in the roasting.
I’m not a huge fan of meat, especially pork. However, I seemed to have developed a palate for crispy-skinned pork Chinese-style – you know the kind you see hanging from the barbecue meat restaurants-delis, usually found in Chinatown.
There are a number of recipes for this popular dish, which I found too fussy – here’s my version of crispy-skinned Chinese pork (including pointers from Chinese chefs, who’ve generously shared with me).
What you need:
800g-1kg of rolled pork loin – pork shoulder blade is ideal; pork belly will work well too
5-spice powder
Table salt
Coarse/rock salt
1…Score the pork loin all-over.
2…Unroll the rolled pork loin. Lightly salt with table salt and dust 5-spice powder on the inside of the skin and on meat. Roll up the loin again and tie with kitchen/cooking string. Continue to lightly salt with table salt and dust with 5-spice on the outside of the loin. *Just a light dusting of salt and 5-spice powder is sufficient.
3…Cover and Marinate overnight or for at least 5 hours.
4…Pre-heat oven at 180 C/350 F. Coat the pork with a layer of coarse/rock salt and place on a rack in a baking tray.
5…Roast the pork for at least 1 hour. The salt should have crystallised by now, and you can choose to scrap it off at this point – I just left it.
6…During the next 45 mins-1 hour, you’ll need to change the oven mode from ‘roast’ to ‘fan force’. Continue to cook pork until the skin is golden and crispy. You might have to move the loin around to ensure it gets crispy all over – make sure you turn off ‘fan force’ before you open the oven.
Notes…
…It might seem like a lot of salt, but it’s actually OK as it is a thick cut of meat, and you’re only lightly salting it during the marination stage. I don’t have a high tolerance for salty food and found this level of salt manageable.
…Salt is essential to this dish as it draws out the *moisture* from the skin, resulting in that wonderful crispy skin! So, if you are on a low salt diet, I suggest you use less salt for the marination instead of for the roasting.
The next time I make this, I’m going to make sure I hunt hard for that piece of pork shoulder blade! It’ll be more divine… I had no complaints from my guests though, who polished every morsel off including the refreshing salad I made to accompany this dish.
Serves: 4
Sorry for the poor picture quality and lack of good pictures – my camera and I are miscommunicating...
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