Instant Pot Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly (FORK TENDER)

Lunar New Year is just around the corner; here is my easy, savory, and melt-in-your-mouth fail-proof Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly made in an Instant Pot. The pork is braised until FORK TENDER and packed with flavor. The sauce is savory and sweet with layers of umami flavor from different spices and condiments. Get your rice and belly ready because this Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly is going to blow your mind! 

Braised Pork Belly Recipes Around The World

There are so many Braised Pork Belly variations from all around the world, such as Filipino Adobo, Vietnamese Thit Kho, Shanghai-Hong Shao Rou, and even within Taiwan, there are so many variations. Over the next few months, I will be showing you different variations of braised pork belly recipes, because each version has a secret technique that makes it unique.

Today we are making my easy instant pot Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly that I grew up eating for dinner. It is not too heavy and pairs perfectly with rice. 

Cooking Pork Belly with Instant Pot

Cooking with an Instant Pot not only cuts the cooking time in half, but the pork belly comes out extra tender every single time. This is a great dish to make for weeknight dinners as you toss it all in, and you don’t have to worry about it until you are ready to eat! If you’re looking for an instant pot, my favorite is this Air Fryer Instant Pot Combo!

If you have extra time, add in a hard boil egg and let it simmer for an additional 30 minutes for a yummy braised egg. In Taiwan, we like to pair it with Taiwanese Cucumber Salad and Chinese Pickled Cabbage since savory and sweet pairs perfectly with sour! 

How To Clean and Prepare Pork Belly For Braising

One of the most important steps for making the perfect braised pork belly is blanching before braising. Don’t worry, you’re not losing any flavor. Blanching actually helps the pork belly absorb even more of that delicious sauce, giving it a delicate clean taste.

To blanch your pork belly, boil it. Once you finish blanching the pork belly for 3-5 minutes, rinse clean with cold water before adding it to the Instant Pot. For an extra clean flavor, I sometimes take the optional step of adding ginger, green onion, Sichuan peppercorn, and sake to the boiling water before blanching.

Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly Ingredients

• 2.5 lb Pork Belly
• 4 thin slices of Ginger
• 10 cloves Garlic smashed
• 2 Green Onion
• 1 small Cinamon Stick
• 4 Star Anise
• 5 Red Whole Chili
• ¼ cup Soy Sauce
• ¼ cup Dark Soy Sauce
• 4.5 tbsp Brown Sugar or Rock Sugar
• 3 tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine optional
• ¼ cup Water

How To Make Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly In Instant Pot

1. Cut the pork belly into 1-inch pieces. Add the pork belly to a pot filled with water and turn the heat up to medium-high. Let it cook for 3-5 minutes and rinse with cold water. Drain the pork belly and set it aside. 
2. In an Instant Pot, add Pork belly, ginger, garlic, green onion, cinnamon stick, star anise, whole red chili, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, Chinese cooking wine (optional), and ¼ cup of water. Mix everything 
3. Put the lid on and set it to pressure cook for 25 minutes. 
4. Pair with rice and garnish with green onion. 

Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly made in an Instant Pot

By Tiffy Cooks

5 from 2 votes

The pork is braised until FORK TENDER and packed with flavor. The sauce is savory and sweet with layers of umami flavor from different spices and condiments.

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Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:30 minutes mins

Total Time:50 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Taiwanese

Keyword: Asian Recipe Easy, Asian Recipes, Asian Recipes for Dinner, Authentic asian recipes, Instant Pot, pork belly, Pork Recipe, Taiwanese Food, Taiwanese Recipes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 1599kcal

Equipment

• Instant Pot

Ingredients

• 2.5 lb Pork Belly
• 4 thin slices of Ginger
• 10 cloves Garlic smashed
• 2 Green Onion
• 1 small Cinamon Stick
• 4 Star Anise
• 5 Red Whole Chili
• ¼ cup Soy Sauce
• ¼ cup Dark Soy Sauce
• 4.5 tbsp Brown Sugar or Rock Sugar
• 3 tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine optional
• ¼ cup Water

Instructions

• Cut the pork belly into 1-inch pieces. Add the pork belly to a pot filled with water and turn the heat up to medium-high. Let it cook for 3-5 minutes and rinse with cold water. Drain the pork belly and set it aside
• In an Instant Pot, add Pork belly, ginger, garlic, green onion, cinnamon stick, star anise, whole red chili, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, Chinese cooking wine (optional), and ¼ cup of water. Mix everything
• Put the lid on and set it to pressure cook for 25 minutes.
• Pair with rice and garnish with green onion.

Notes

I always make sure to blanch the pork belly first to get rid of the pork’s scum and smell. It also allows the sauce to be purer and the pork belly to aboard all the flavors better. Once you finish blanching the pork belly for 3-5 minutes, rinse clean with cold water before adding it to the Instant Pot. A simple step makes a world of difference, trust me! 

Nutrition

Calories: 1599kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 32gFat: 151gSaturated Fat: 55gPolyunsaturated Fat: 16gMonounsaturated Fat: 70gCholesterol: 204mgSodium: 1724mgPotassium: 882mgFiber: 2gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 630IUVitamin C: 86mgCalcium: 74mgIron: 4mg