The market · Meat · East Asia, Southeast Asia, Northern and Central Europe
Pork belly
Layers of fat and meat from the underside — the cut for crackling, red-braised pork and Korean barbecue.
rich · sweet fat
What to do with it
Rosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineapplePork belly would soften its edgeIbu Sari's Sambal ijoPork belly would soften its edgeKenji Hara's Milk punch, with hojichaPork belly would soften its edge
VietnameseBún chảGrilled pork patties and pork belly in a warm, sweet-sour fish sauce dressing, with cold rice noodles and herbs.No one here has made it yet
VietnameseGỏi cuốnRice paper wrapped round prawns, pork, rice noodles, lettuce and herbs, eaten fresh with a dipping sauce.No one here has made it yet
VietnameseThịt khoPork belly and hard-boiled eggs braised in fish sauce, dark caramel and coconut water until glossy and brown.No one here has made it yetVietnameseBánh xèoA thin, crisp pancake of rice flour, coconut milk and turmeric, folded round pork, prawns and bean sprouts, wrapped in leaves and herbs and dipped in nước chấm.No one here has made it yetFilipinoSinigangA sour soup of pork, prawns or fish with vegetables, soured most often with tamarind.No one here has made it yetFilipinoSisigPig's face and ears boiled, grilled and chopped fine with onion, chilli and calamansi, served on a sizzling iron plate.No one here has made it yetFilipinoBicol expressPork simmered in coconut milk with shrimp paste and a great many chillies, until the sauce is thick and oily.No one here has made it yetTeochewKway chapWide, flat rice sheets in a dark soy broth, with a plate of braised pork, offal, tofu and eggs from the lou pot.No one here has made it yetHunanChairman Mao's red-braised porkCubes of pork belly braised slowly with caramelised sugar, Shaoxing wine, chilli and spices until glossy, deep red and meltingly soft.No one here has made it yetHuaiyangLion's head meatballsLarge, soft pork meatballs, gently stewed in stock over Chinese leaf until they're tender enough to eat with a spoon.No one here has made it yetShanghaineseRed-braised porkCubes of pork belly braised in Shaoxing wine, dark soy and rock sugar until the sauce reduces to a sticky, mahogany glaze.No one here has made it yetZhejiangDongpo porkThick squares of pork belly, tied with string and braised slowly in Shaoxing wine, soy and sugar until the fat trembles.No one here has made it yetZhejiangBeggar's chickenA whole stuffed chicken wrapped in lotus leaves, sealed in clay or dough, and baked for hours until it falls from the bone.No one here has made it yetFujianBak changA pyramid of soy-darkened sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves round braised pork belly, mushroom, chestnut and salted egg yolk.No one here has made it yetAnhuiStinky mandarin fishA whole mandarin fish, lightly salted and left for days until it smells, then fried and braised with pork, bamboo shoots and chilli.No one here has made it yetAnhuiHuizhou one-potA deep iron pot layered with bamboo shoots, pork, fried tofu, egg dumplings and greens, simmered slowly and brought to the table whole.No one here has made it yetAnhuiHuangshan shaobingA small, flaky, round pastry filled with preserved mustard greens and fatty pork, crusted with sesame and baked against the wall of a charcoal oven.No one here has made it yetBeijingZhajiangmianThick wheat noodles under a spoonful of dark, salty sauce — bean paste fried slowly with diced pork — and a heap of raw, crunchy vegetables to mix through.No one here has made it yet
SichuanTwice-cooked porkPork belly simmered whole, sliced thin, then stir-fried until the edges curl, with chilli bean paste and green garlic or leeks.No one here has made it yetJapaneseOkonomiyakiA thick savoury pancake of batter and shredded cabbage with pork belly, cooked on a griddle and finished with sweet-sour sauce, mayonnaise, aonori and bonito flakes.No one here has made it yetJapaneseTonkotsu ramenThin, straight noodles in a cloudy, creamy pork-bone broth, with slices of chāshū, red pickled ginger and spring onion.No one here has made it yetJapaneseGōyā chanpurūBitter melon stir-fried with firm tofu, pork and egg — Okinawa's everyday dish, bitter, savoury and soft at once.No one here has made it yet
KoreanKimchi jjigaeA stew of old, sour kimchi simmered with pork belly and tofu until the broth turns deep red and savoury.No one here has made it yetKoreanGogi guksuThick wheat noodles in a rich, cloudy pork-bone broth, under thick slices of boiled pork — Jeju's noodle soup, once made for feasts.No one here has made it yetGoanGoan sausageCubes of fatty pork cured with chilli, garlic, spice and vinegar, stuffed into casings, dried in the sun and smoked — then fried with onion and eaten in bread.No one here has made it yetValencianArròs al fornRice baked in a wide earthenware dish with chickpeas, pork, blood sausage, potato and tomato, with a whole head of garlic in the middle.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridCocido madrileñoChickpeas, meats, sausages and vegetables simmered for hours in one pot, then served in turns: the broth with noodles, then everything else.No one here has made it yetAsturianFabada asturianaLarge, buttery white beans stewed slowly with smoked chorizo, morcilla and pork belly until the broth thickens.No one here has made it yetGascon and the South-WestCassouletWhite beans baked slowly in a deep clay dish with duck confit, pork and garlicky sausage, under a crust that's broken and formed again.No one here has made it yetPeruvianPan con chicharrónPork simmered then fried in its own fat, in a crusty roll with fried sweet potato and salsa criolla.No one here has made it yetBrazilianFeijoadaBlack beans stewed slowly with salted, smoked and fresh pork and dried beef, served with rice, greens, farofa and orange.No one here has made it yetKinds
- Skin-on slab
- For roasting with crackling, or braising.
- Sliced (samgyeopsal)
- Thick strips for Korean barbecue.
- Cured
- As pancetta or streaky bacon.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Butchers, and Chinese and Korean grocers.
- Worth knowing
- For crackling: score the skin, dry it uncovered in the fridge overnight, salt it, and start it hot.
Kitchens that keep it in
Jiangsu province and the lower Yangtze, eastern ChinaHuaiyangDelicate and exact: fine knife work, clear stocks and a gentle sweetness, cooked to bring out an ingredient's own flavour rather than to cover it.7 classicsShanghai, on the Yangtze delta, eastern ChinaShanghaineseSweet, dark and glossy: a port city's home cooking, red-braised in soy, sugar and Shaoxing wine, with soup dumplings, cold 'drunken' dishes and hairy crab in autumn.7 classicsAsturias — the green mountains and coast of northern Spain, on the Bay of BiscayAsturianA kitchen of rain and mountains: big white beans stewed with smoked sausage, milk and blue cheese, fish from the Cantabrian Sea, and cider poured from a height.7 classics