Chinese Roast Pork (Siew Yoke)

Roast Pork (Siew Yoke) ~ Jul 2011

Who doesn't love a good roast pork? We find every excuse to have roast pork in Malaysia. It's common to find this succulent salty meat with cripsy crackling skin (rind) in every Chinese eatery, may it be at a roadside hawker or in a 5 star Chinese banquet hall.

I was very fortunate to have inherited an absolutely no brainer recipe from my Aunt Nancy (yes, credits to her!). Well actually, she gave it to my mum who tweaked it further by adjusting the oven temperature, buying the perfect piece of pork, etc. (So, credits to darling Mummy too!)

It took 2 observations and 2 trials for me to achieve the above end result ie- succulent tender meat with crunchy crackling skin. You can't imagine how I loomed like a hawk over my mum when she made hers! I was peering over her shoulder, sniffing the perfect 5-spice powder, tapping the crackling skin.... However, I do confess that I did a lot of research on other foodblogs and found some pretty interest sites which I diligently follow.

My roast pork journey began in September 2010.

Looks like a boil! (Sept 2010)

After chopping it into pieces, nobody really cared how it looked like earlier on!

A recent 1.5kg piece roasted in Jan 2012.

I made two 1.5kg pieces for prayers on the 9th day of Chinese New Year. I was very excited and humbled that my in-laws asked me to prepare the roast pork as an offering for the auspicious prayers instead of ordering a whole roast pig. This was a really big deal for me as the roast was usually significant part of the prayers. It is a day when Hokkiens give thanks and ask for blessing from the Jade Emperor.

It meant the most to me that both pieces of roast pork turned out well. I was so paranoid that I had 2 extra kilos in the fridge! (just in case!). The above piece turned out perfectly while the other one had a few 'bubbles'. Overall, I was told, that both pieces were equally tasty and crispy! Phew....

This is how an offering looks like at my in-laws place

ROAST PORK RECIPE:

This is a 1 kilo roast pork I made on 26 Feb 2012

Ingredients:
1 kilo pork belly (with skin/rind)

1 packet of salt

Marinade:
2 pieces of fermented red beancurd (lam yue)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce (optional)
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp 5-spice powder
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp castor sugar

Method:

1. Rinse pork belly and pat dry. Remember to get your butcher to score a few slits 1.5cm apart and 2 cm deep into the meat part of the pork & shave the skin clean. 
2. Mix the marinade evenly then rub it all over the meat side of the pork. Remember to get the marinade into the slits as well.
3. Place the pork skin side up on a platter into the chiller part of your fridge (uncovered) for at least 6 hours. I leave mine in the fridge for 24 hours. This will ensure that there will not be any moisture on the skin and it will turn as tough as a tree bark
4. For roasting, preheat oven at 250 Celcius. Prepare a pan filled with water to be placed below the roasting rack.
5. Next, place the pork onto the roasting pan and dust a thick layer of salt on its skin. Place pork in the oven for 20-30 min
6. Remove pork from oven and scrape away all the salt from its skin. Return to oven for 30-40min or until the skin turns crispy and golden brown.