P
Chinese · Guangdong Province
Cantonese Crispy Pork (Siu Yuk) — Golden Crackle Technique
Siu yuk (燒肉) — Cantonese crispy roast pork belly — is one of the pillars of Cantonese siu mei culture. The skin of the pork belly must achieve a state of uniform, shatteringly crisp 'popcorn' crackling (called 'glass skin' or 'crispy layer'). The technique involves scoring the skin, applying vinegar and baking soda, drying overnight, then high-heat roasting. The failure modes (pale, soft, or tough skin) are the most common obstacles.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1.2 kg
pork belly
skin-on, flat and even in thickness, scored across the skin in a fine grid with a metal skewer — more perforations yield more uniform crackle
Your own market
For the skin
1 tsp
baking soda
made into a paste with a few drops of water; applied to scored skin only
Your own market
2 tbsp
rice vinegar
rubbed over skin after baking soda application to neutralise excess alkalinity and tighten the surface
Your own market
For the flesh
1 tsp
five-spice powder
rubbed into flesh side only
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tsp
fine salt
rubbed generously into flesh side; draws moisture out during the overnight dry and seasons the meat from below
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Lay the pork belly skin-side up on a board. Pierce the skin across its entire surface in a close grid pattern using a metal skewer — work methodically, as uniform perforation is the foundation of uniform crackle. Do not drive the skewer deep enough to breach the fat layer beneath; cuts into fat cause shrinkage as moisture escapes during roasting.
2
Turn the belly flesh-side up. Rub the five-spice powder and salt thoroughly into the flesh. Turn skin-side up again. Apply the baking soda paste evenly across the scored skin, working it into the perforations. Follow immediately with the vinegar, rubbing it over the same surface: the vinegar neutralises excess alkalinity and contracts the skin. The skin should feel taut and slightly matte.
From the canon — Five-spice powder (wu xiang fen) is the most important Chinese spice blend — typically: star anise, Sichuan pepper, Chinese cinnamon (cassia), cloves, and fe… Five-Spice Powder — The Blend and Its Logic (五香粉) →
3
Place the belly skin-side up, uncovered, on a rack set over a tray. Refrigerate overnight. Before roasting, inspect the skin: it must be completely dry to the touch — any residual surface moisture will cause the skin to steam rather than crackle. Tap the skin gently; a dry, hollow sound confirms it is ready.
4
This is where the dish lives or dies. Heat the oven to 240 °C. Roast the pork belly skin-side up at this high heat for 30 minutes. The initial blast of high heat is essential to start the crackling reaction — insufficient heat at this stage produces pale, soft or tough skin that no subsequent cooking can correct. Watch for the skin to blister and begin to lift into bubbled, golden domes across its surface.
5
Reduce the oven to 190 °C and continue roasting for a further 30 to 40 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and the crackle has set to a deep, even amber across the whole surface. The skin should shatter audibly when pressed with the back of a spoon — the test of true 'glass skin'.
6
Remove from the oven and rest briefly before cutting. Use a cleaver or heavy knife to portion through the crackling in clean, decisive strokes — hesitation causes the crackle layer to shear unevenly from the fat beneath.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Heritage breed belly — Berkshire or Duroc — with thick, even fat cap and unblemished skin; sourced from a specialist butcher who can confirm breed and husbandry.
02
Estate — Free-range pork belly from a named farm, with good fat-to-meat ratio and skin intact and unscored; ask the butcher to leave the skin whole for home scoring.
03
Market — Good-quality butcher's pork belly, skin-on, selected for flat, even profile — avoid pieces that taper sharply, as uneven thickness produces uneven crackling.
04
House — Supermarket skin-on pork belly; choose the flattest, most uniformly thick piece available and dry thoroughly — the technique compensates for ordinary provenance.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. After the overnight refrigeration, skin feels papery and bone-dry; no tackiness under the fingertip.
◇Sound. A dry, hollow tap on the skin before roasting confirms all surface moisture has left — the crackle check.
◇Sight. At 30 minutes on high heat, skin blisters into bubbled, golden domes uniformly across its surface.
◇Sound. Finished crackling shatters audibly when pressed with the back of a spoon — the 'glass skin' test.
◇Where it lives or dies. The opening blast at 240 °C is the decisive moment: without sustained high heat from the start, the skin cannot begin the crackling reaction, and no subsequent adjustment will recover a pale or rubbery surface.
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VI
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