Chinese-style Glazed Pork Belly
This Chinese-style pork belly
is sweet, salty, and perfectly tender. Slowly cooking the pork in a flavorful mixture of garlic, ginger, and brown sugar gives it that signature sticky-sweet glaze that pairs perfectly with salty soy sauce. Serve it over rice for the ultimate dinner and forget you ever wanted to order take-out.
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Quick
Under 1 Hour
Ingredients
You'll Need:
- 500 g pork belly (lean)
- 960 mL water (plus 250 milliliters, divided)
- 4 slices of fresh ginger
- 1 spring onion (cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces)
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons shaoxing rice wine
- - cooked rice (for serving)
- - sliced green onion (for serving)
Preparation
- Cut the pork belly into roughly 1-inch (2 ½ cm) cubes.
- Bring 1 liter of water to a boil in a pot, then add the pork, ginger, onion, and garlic, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the pork from the water using a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel. Discard the remaining water and vegetables.
- Clean and dry the pot, then return it to high heat and add the olive oil. Return the pork to the pan and cook until browned. The oil may pop and splatter, so be careful.
- Add the brown sugar, then reduce the heat to low. Stir continuously until the sugar has melted, caramelized, and coated the pork evenly.
- Immediately add the soy sauces and rice wine, stirring continuously for 5-6 minutes more, or until the liquid has reduced to a thick glaze.
- Add the remaining 250 milliliters of water. Stir, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes. Make sure the mixture is at a low simmer, not boiling. Stir every 10 minutes or so, adding more water if the pot is getting dry.
- Remove the lid. The sauce should coat the pork in a very thick glaze. If it is too runny, continue to stir, uncovered, until the liquid has reduced.
- Serve immediately over a bowl of rice and sprinkle with sliced green onions.
- Nutrition Calories: 1704 Fat: 162 grams Carbs: 27 grams Fiber: 1 gram Sugars: 9 grams Protein: 30 grams
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
No nutritional information available.
Tips
lauramilsom
"I put ours in the slow cooker before reducing it on the stove. Delicious!!"
6 years ago
tally280
"It was perfect just like the recipe was and just for a little tip rice vinegar and rice wine are the same thing for anyone who had trouble find it like I did."
7 years ago
sohyun
"Used less sugar, 6 table spoons of kikkoman and still worked great. Easy to make but takes a long time to simmer down, so get started earlier if you are feeling a bit hungry!"
7 years ago
Niyi Opesan
"Would definitely recommend using soft brown sugar instead of granulated sugar, came out well though. I also added some Pak Choi towards the end to fill out the recipe a bit, goes really well with the dish!"
7 years ago
Kamille Anderson
"i used chicken instead of pork & it came out delicious. I’m sure the pork would too. This is definitely something i will make again."
7 years ago
kdn
"Delicious! Add sugar up and down depending on how sweet you like it!"
7 years ago
Helena Page
"This was so so yummy, 10/10 would make again 🤤"
7 years ago
Krystyna Michelle
"As a uni student I’m over the moon with this recipe so tasty!! Little tip: for the last 10 mins removed the lid to let the sauce thicken up (presentation purely for this tip)"
6 years ago
Tappi Haney
"It’s good. I didn’t have light and dark soy sauce so I used 6 tbsp of kikomans."
7 years ago
kat22laelia
"It was very nice but went a bit oily rather than saucey at the end. Maybe won’t add as much or any oil or additionally make a sauce to go with. I perhaps didn’t add enough ingredients as I should have because I had slightly more pork to feed 3 people. Any still tasty and tender and worth a try again."
7 years ago
Laura Clark
"I’ve made this a fair few times now and i love it. I don’t follow the measurements for the sugar, soy sauce and rice vinegar, i just make it up as a go along now and it’s now better than the original recipe. Also, i don’t add oil when frying off the pork as it violently spits oil and get everywhere"
7 years ago
kcsabor
"Cut Pork belly thicker"
7 years ago
werone
"Used pork shoulder and dry sherry in place of pork belly and shaoxing. Came out tender and delicious. Definitely count on extra reduction time after the 45 minute simmer. Just turned heat up to medium high for about another 20-25 minutes."
7 years ago
Dave DiBacco
"Way too much liquid in the pot after simmering for 45 mins so i poured some out and added a little corn starch. That did the trick 🔥"
7 years ago
leahk28
"My tastebuds are doing a happy dance. This was fantastic. Definite re-do!"
6 years ago
Santiago Martínez
"It’s delicious! You can add some Winchester sauce if you don’t have soy sauce, instead of brown sugar I used fructose and it worked! Add some orange juice and it brings the acidity of the Winchester sauce out, also try some sriracha on it, trust me, it’s marvelous, and to finish mix the green onions with some sesame seeds when serving (toast them)"
7 years ago
Ankita Pradhan
"The recipe is fabulous and so easy. You literally do so little yet get to taste the most amazing simple flavors. I had to remove 1 cup of pork oil after the browning the pork. May be it’s because of the fatty cut I had. In the end it was tasty."
6 years ago
Kaitlyn Hodge
"20 minutes of simmering on medium low and it was burnt 20 minutes in. Sauce turned black and hardened on like candy and I have no idea what happened. Double checked, followed the recipe to a T."
6 years ago
Hayleigh Madison
"Tasted amazing! - may have put a little less sugar in as it was very sweet!"
7 years ago
Christina Nicholson
"Mine didn’t reduce enough after 45 minutes so added a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in water and worked like magic!! Super tasty!"
7 years ago
lauramilsom
"I put ours in the slow cooker before reducing it on the stove. Delicious!!"
6 years ago
tally280
"It was perfect just like the recipe was and just for a little tip rice vinegar and rice wine are the same thing for anyone who had trouble find it like I did."
7 years ago