BBQ Sio bak (Siu yuk)

Because it's CNY! I have never made this because of my fear of messy, splattered ovens, but why not start trying now for the Year of the Pig.

Explanation: https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/crispy-pork-belly-siu-yuk/
: pricking of skin with fork, use of white vinegar to soften skin, cooking over water to avoid too much smoke, cutting from meat first

Method and ingredients: This recipe uses the BBQ which avoids messing up the oven, and also uses red fermented beancurd. I adapted this from their CNY recipe which uses mandarins.
http://themeatmen.sg/sio-bak-mandarin-orange-mustard/?fbclid=IwAR0o5sHrLamzWfHJdrT6T8KJ9MlHXkezHDqITVZircipkTCdUxZXVzen_RI

Method: https://www.recipetineats.com/chinese-crispy-pork-belly/
: Different ways of making the skin crispy: with pricking and without

Ingredients
1.2kg pork belly
2 mashed nam yu (red fermented beancurd)
1 tbsp five spice powder
½ tbsp rock salt (for marinade) + 1 tbsp salt (for skin)
1 tbsp ground white pepper
1 tbsp rice cooking wine

Topping
1 tbsp rock salt
1 tbsp rice vinegar

Method
1. Prepare the meat. Make slits at the bottom of the meat. On top, wipe dry with kitchen towels. Either prick with a meat pricker, slash squares with a knife, or use several skewers tied together with a rubber band. Whichever method you use, ensure that you do not pierce the fat layer underneath otherwise the fat will bubble to the surface during cooking and make the skin soggy.
2. Mix the marinade ingredients in a flat pan. Rub the marinade into the meat but be careful that the marinade doesn't touch the skin. Carefully place the meat into the pan and ensure that it is well coated all over, except on the skin side. Blot the skin and sprinkle on 1 tbsp of salt. Rub into the skin.
3. Leave in the fridge to marinade for 12 to 24 hours, uncovered. It has to be uncovered so that the skin is allowed to dry out.
4. The next day, bring the pan out of the fridge and allow the meat to come to room temperature.
5. Using a foil, carefully encase the meat in the foil. Leave a 1 to 1.5cm tall border around the top of the skin, but ensure that it is tightly fitting against the meat. Pour on the 1 tbsp of rock salt to make a salt layer topping. If you encased the meat properly, the border should prevent the rock salt from falling off the sides and touching the meat. If it does, it will be very salty. Another way is to leave a 0.5cm border around the edge clear of salt so that when the meat cooks and shrinks, the salt will not fall down the sides.
6. Cook at 180 deg C for 1 hour.
7. Next, remove the meat and turn up to 230 deg C. I used the BBQ for this portion to avoid a messy splatted oven. Remove the meat from the foil casing and carefully list onto a baking rack (as pictured). Cook for 20 to 25 minutes so that the skin puffs up and becomes shatteringly crispy. Check after 15 minutes. I went for 20 minutes and it burnt. If it does, simply scrape off the burnt bits.

Opps burnt!

8. Let the meat rest for 15 minutes, uncovered. To chop up, turn it on its side and cut the meat portion first, before chopping down on the skin with a cleaver. This way, you get one entire piece and the skin doesn't break off.

After scraping away the burnt parts and chopping. So juicy!

9. Serve with mustard, or I prefer sweet sauce.