Air Fryer Crispy Mala Pork Belly Skewers
I am back with another EASY and delicious Air Fryer recipe that you will love Air Fryer Crispy Mala Pork Belly Skewers! Inspired by Chinese BBQ Skewers, these are the most deliciously perfect snack to make this summer. The pork belly is crispy on the outside, juicy and flavourful on the inside thanks to the Sichuan Mala Marinade. Then, it’s topped with the perfect amount of Chinese BBQ seasoning! Pair these crispy, spicy Pork Belly Skewers with a glass of ice-cold beer, and you get the perfect late-night meal!
Chinese BBQ Beer House Inspired Mala Pork Skewers
This Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly Skewer recipe is inspired by the yummy skewers from Chinese BBQ Beer Houses. I love them because you can pick a bunch of different skewers while enjoying an ice-cold beer with friends. If you are in Vancouver, I highly recommend trying out Happy Tree Cafe or TASTY BBQ to try out Chinese BBQ Beer Houses.
Some of my favorite skewers are pork intestine, lamb, pork belly, chicken gizzards, and chicken skin. They are all seasoned with this addicting umami seasoning packed with so much flavor. The skewers are often deep-fried and then BBQ, and to finish off, coated with a generous about of seasoning. But today, we are using a slightly more home-kitchen friendly version with the Air Fryer.
If you want to try this recipe on the grill, you have to check out my summer backyard grill tips for this recipe in my Everyday Recipes for Backyard Grilling post!
Chinese Spicy Pork Skewer Ingredients
- 0.5 lb pork belly cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup Chinese Cooking Wine optional
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 0.5 tbsp Five-Spice Powder
- 2 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1.5 tsp Ground Sichuan Pepper
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Chicken powder optional
Seasoning (equal parts of all ingredients)
- garlic powder
- Red chili powder
- cumin
- Ground Sichuan Pepper
- Five-spice powder
- Sesame seeds
- Chicken powder
Sichuan Mala Marinade
You only need a few simple ingredients to make Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly Skewers: Soy Sauce, Chinese cooking wine, Red Chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, five-spice powder, ground Sichuan pepper, and a little sugar.
You can also season with chicken powder to add more umami flavor. For maximum flavor, marinate the pork belly for at least one hour or overnight. It’s the perfect type of marinade to prepare a ton of skewers ahead of time so you can have these skewers anytime.
Chinese BBQ Finishing Seasoning
I’m adding an extra seasoning to add to the skewers as it finishes air frying. This is an easy Chinese BBQ inspired seasoning that adds an extra layer to the skewers to make it extra tasty. It includes equal parts of garlic powder, red chili powder, cumin, ground Sichuan pepper, five-spice powder, sesame seeds, and chicken powder. You can literally use this seasoning for anything you’re air frying or grilling! I swear it makes anything grilled taste JUST LIKE the Chinese BBQ Beer Houses!
How To Make Spicy Chinese Pork Belly Skewers
- Cut pork belly into bite-sized pieces
- Marinate the pork belly with soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, garlic powder, five-spice powder, red chili powder, cumin, ground Sichuan pepper, sugar, and chicken powder for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350F.
- Add around 5-6 pieces of pork belly onto each skewer, and place it in the air fryer.
- Air fry at 350F for 20 minutes, flipping the skewers halfway through.
- Optional, turn the heat to 400F and air fry for 2 minutes to make them extra crispy!
- Finish off with some seasoning powder, and enjoy!
Air Frying Your Pork Skewers
To be honest, I was a little skeptical about the hype when I first heard about air fryers and didn’t realize how EASY it was to make delicious meals with them. As I incorporate air fryers more and more into my cooking arsenal, I realized how many DIFFERENT air fryers you could buy—all shapes and sizes, with different functions, features, and cooking abilities.
For this recipe, add around 5-6 pork bellies per skewer, and air fry at 350F for 20 minutes. Flip the pork belly halfway through if you like it extra crispy, and air fry at 400F for an extra 2 minutes before serving.
I wanted to find the one that fits best in the kitchen, so I set out to test some of the most popular air fryers sold on Amazon. Check out my air fryer blog post comparing 4 of the best-selling air fryers on Amazon!
Do you want more AIR FRYER recipes? Here are some of my go-to air fryer recipes that you will LOVE!
- Air Fryer Salmon (15 Minutes ONLY!)
- The BEST Air Fryer Soy Sauce Chicken
- Orange Chicken Wings (Air-Fryer Recipe)
- Char Siu Pork – Chinese BBQ Pork (Air Fryer and EASY)
Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly Skewers
By Tiffy Cooks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 0.5 lb pork belly cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup Chinese Cooking Wine optional
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 0.5 tbsp Five-Spice Powder
- 2 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1.5 tsp Ground Sichuan Pepper
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Chicken powder optional
Seasoning (equal parts of all ingredients)
- garlic powder
- Red chili powder
- cumin
- Ground Sichuan Pepper
- Five-spice powder
- Sesame seeds
- Chicken powder
Instructions
- Cut pork belly into bite-sized pieces
- Marinate the pork belly with soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, garlic powder, five-spice powder, red chili powder, cumin, ground Sichuan pepper, sugar, and chicken powder for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350F.
- Add around 5-6 pieces of pork belly onto each skewer, and place it in the air fryer.
- Air fry at 350F for 20 minutes, flipping the skewers halfway through.
- Optional, turn the heat to 400F and air fry for 2 minutes to make them extra crispy!
- Finish off with some seasoning powder, and enjoy!
This recipe was fun to prepare and easy to make in the air fryer. I prepared them in advance and then served them along with a couple of other Asian dishes. They were the perfect accompaniment!. DELISH!!