When we order Crispy Pork Belly and other small dishes as appetizers at the Asian dumpling restaurant around the corner, the pork belly is always the first dish that’s gone… It’s slightly spicy, crispy, and really delicious. Impossible to resist. Really… ;P
Pork belly as an ingredient can be used in many dishes. Here in Germany, we like to add it to stews, as part of a meat platter (aka. Schlachtplatte), or simply dip it in BBQ sauce and throw it on the grill. In China and other Asian countries, this type of meat is also popular and used for various dishes. Sometimes it ends up in soups, sometimes in bao buns, or it is served as an appetizer on its own or with a little rice, as you can see here…
Pork belly can be prepared in different ways. Often, the meat is marinated beforehand (as it has been done here) and then it’s either fried or grilled. If the pork belly is to be used in a stew, there is no need to marinate it – no need for additional seasoning. The stew or soup should cover that… ;P
Anyway. We marinated our pork belly here for a few hours in a marinade that is somewhat inspired by Korean cuisine. Why Korean? Because it’s made with a good amount of Gochugaru* – one of our favorite spices when it comes to chili. The composition of the marinade and the general preparation of the pork belly are not necessarily typical for Korean cuisine, though. We did some research on the internet and basically mixed and matched what we thought would work… ;P
When preparing pork belly, you have to decide whether you want the skin to stay on or not. For some recipes, it’s worth leaving this part of the pork belly intact, because the skin gets that super crispy texture when grilled – which can be really nice. In this recipe, it’s up to you whether you remove the skin or leave it on. Not everyone likes the firmer (sometimes chewy) texture. When the pork belly is nicely grilled, it’s normally not really a problem, but sometimes you do notice the difference in texture…
Preparing pork belly in an Air Fryer has several advantages in our opinion. It’s quick and there’s no mess to deal with in the kitchen. Frying pork belly in a pan can often result in grease splatters all around the stove and strong odors in the kitchen. If you throw your pork belly on the grill in the garden, you won’t have these issues… but in a small kitchen, you have to think a little more economically. No one wants to spend a lot of time cleaning the kitchen after you’re done cooking, right? ;P
In some pork belly recipes, the pork belly is first cooked in broth for a while and then fried or grilled with a spicy paste or marinade on top. We tried to mimic this method here, at least to some extent – only a little easier and faster. Thanks to the use of baking parchment in the Air Fryer basket at the beginning, the meat is cooking in the marinade and its own juices at first. Then both the baking paper and accumulated liquid (which is mainly fat) are removed, and the meat is roasting for a few minutes longer without baking parchment to achieve that nice crispy texture.
As you can see in the photos, we like to serve the crispy pork belly with rice and cucumber salad. More specifically, a Korean Cucumber Salad with Gochugaru. The hot chili flakes can be found in many of our recipes. If you ever buy a package of those chili flakes you will know why you have to use them often and generously… ;P
Speaking of Korean spices – another Korean spice paste that can typically be found in our fridge is Gochujang. Similar to Gochugaru, this chili paste adds a lot of flavor and heat to a dish. The best example for that is our recipe for Gochujang Eggplant with Rice. That dish can be prepared in an Air Fryer as well.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4 servings)
21 oz. (600g) pork belly, cut into pieces
2-3 tbsp. cooking oil* (suitable for high temperatures)
1 tbsp. soy sauce*
1 tbsp. coconut blossom sugar*
1 tbsp. Gochugaru*
2 tsp. garlic powder*
1 tsp. onion powder*
1 tsp. cayenne pepper*
some salt
(4 Portionen)
600g Bauchspeck, in Stücken
2-3 EL Bratöl* (hocherhitzbar)
1 EL Sojasauce*
1 EL Kokosblütenzucker*
1 EL Gochugaru*
2 TL Knoblauchpulver*
1 TL Zwiebelpulver*
1 TL Cayennepfeffer*
etwas Salz
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Pat the pork belly dry and cut it into 1 cm thick pieces.
2. Mix the cooking oil, soy sauce, coconut blossom sugar, Gochugaru, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and some salt in a well-sealing container. Add the pork belly and mix well – you want the meat to be covered evenly with the marinade. Place the container in the fridge for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight). Shake the container occasionally (if possible), so not only the bottom layer of the meat in the container is sitting in the marinade.
3. Line the basket of the Air Fryer with baking paper* and place the pork belly pieces evenly distributed on top – ideally, you have on even layer, nothing overlapping. If you have a smaller Air Fryer, you may need to roast the pork belly in two batches. Set the Air Fryer temperature to 200°C (390°F) and roast the meat for about 10 minutes. The meat will partially braise in its own juices.
4. Remove the meat from the Air Fryer together with the baking paper. Be careful, a lot of liquid will have accumulated. Get rid of the liquid and return the meat to the Air Fryer basket – this time without any baking paper. Roast the pork belly at the same temperature for about 8-10 minutes longer. Shake the meat occasionally so it gets roasted evenly without burning. Serve the crispy pork belly with other dishes as a starter or as part of a main course, e.g. with some rice and Korean cucumber salad.
1. Den Bauchspeck trockentupfen und dann in etwa 1 cm dicke Stücke schneiden.
2. Bratöl, Sojasauce, Kokosblütenzucker, Gochugaru, Knoblauchpulver, Zwiebelpulver, Cayennepfeffer und etwas Salz in einer gut schließenden Tupper verrühren. Den Bauchspeck dazugeben und alles gut vermengen. Für mindestens 6 Stunden (besser über Nacht) in den Kühlschrank stellen. Nach Möglichkeit immer wieder mal durchschütteln, damit das Fleisch gleichmäßig mit der Marinade bedeckt ist.
3. Den Korb des AirFryers mit Backpapier* auslegen und die Bauchspeckstücke gleichmäßig darauf verteilen – im Idealfall überlappt hier nichts. Bei einem kleinen AirFryer muss man den Pork Belly eventuell in zwei Runden rösten. Die Temperatur des AirFryers auf 200°C (390°F) einstellen und das Fleisch für etwa 10 Minuten rösten lassen. Das Fleisch wird hier mehr oder weniger im eigenen Saft schmoren.
4. Das Fleisch mitsamt Backpapier aus dem AirFryer nehmen – Vorsicht, es wird sich ordentlich Flüssigkeit angesammelt haben. Die Flüssigkeit wegschütten und das Fleisch dann ohne Backpapier zurück in den Korb des AirFryers geben. Den Bauchspeck bei gleicher Temperatur noch einmal für etwa 8-10 Minuten anrösten. Zwischendurch immer mal alles durchschütteln, damit das Fleisch gleichmäßig geröstet wird und nicht anbrennt. Den Pork Belly mit anderen Gerichten als Vorspeise servieren oder als Teil eines Hauptgerichts, z.B. mit Reis und koreanischem Gurkensalat.
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Crispy Air Fryer Pork Belly
- Prep Time: 00:10
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 07:00
- Yield: 4
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
Crispy Pork Belly is so easy to prepare – just marinate the meat with your favorite spice mix and then let an Air Fryer do the rest!
Ingredients
21 oz. (600g) pork belly, cut into pieces
2-3 tbsp. cooking oil* (suitable for high temperatures)
1 tbsp. soy sauce*
1 tbsp. coconut blossom sugar*
1 tbsp. Gochugaru*
2 tsp. garlic powder*
1 tsp. onion powder*
1 tsp. cayenne pepper*
some salt
Instructions
1. Pat the pork belly dry and cut it into 1 cm thick pieces.
2. Mix the cooking oil, soy sauce, coconut blossom sugar, Gochugaru, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and some salt in a well-sealing container. Add the pork belly and mix well – you want the meat to be covered evenly with the marinade. Place the container in the fridge for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight). Shake the container occasionally (if possible), so not only the bottom layer of the meat in the container is sitting in the marinade.
3. Line the basket of the Air Fryer with baking paper* and place the pork belly pieces evenly distributed on top – ideally, you have on even layer, nothing overlapping. If you have a smaller Air Fryer, you may need to roast the pork belly in two batches. Set the Air Fryer temperature to 200°C (390°F) and roast the meat for about 10 minutes. The meat will partially braise in its own juices.
4. Remove the meat from the Air Fryer together with the baking paper. Be careful, a lot of liquid will have accumulated. Get rid of the liquid and return the meat to the Air Fryer basket – this time without any baking paper. Roast the pork belly at the same temperature for about 8-10 minutes longer. Shake the meat occasionally so it gets roasted evenly without burning. Serve the crispy pork belly with other dishes as a starter or as part of a main course, e.g. with some rice and Korean cucumber salad.
Notes
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
