Sticky Pork Belly

If there is one dish that everyone will love, it is Sticky Pork Belly.

Tender, savory, and packed with flavor, sticky pork belly is my favorite childhood recipe, and it will soon be yours too!

If you want to save time, you can also check out my Instant Pot Braised Pork Belly, which is super delicious and quick to make at home.

Get your rice ready because you will be licking your bowl and craving for seconds. 

There are so many Sticky Pork Belly variations from around the world, such as Filipino Adobo, Vietnamese Thit Kho, and Shanghai-Hong Shao Rou, and even within Taiwan, so many variations exist.

Over the next few months, I will be showing you different variations of braised pork belly because each version has a secret technique that makes it unique.

Today we are making my easy Sticky Pork Belly that I grew up eating. It is not too heavy and pairs perfectly with rice. 

A super important tip when making sticky pork belly is to blanch the pork first.

I always blanch the pork belly first to eliminate 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 with cold water. A simple step makes a world of difference, trust me! 

If you want to save time when making Sticky Pork Belly, I highly recommend using an Instant Pot!

Instant Pot cuts the cooking time in half, and 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 have extra time, add in hard boil egg and let it simmer for an additional 30 minutes for the 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! 

Do you want more Taiwanese recipes? Here are some of my go-to recipes that you will LOVE! 

• Instant Pot Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
• Taiwanese Milk Mochi (4 Ingredients ONLY!)
• Pork Chops (Bento Box Style!)
• Dan Bing – Classic Taiwanese Egg Roll (15 Minutes!)

Ingredients 

• 2.5 lb Pork Belly 
• 4 thin slices of Ginger 
• 10 cloves of Garlic (smashed) 
• 2 Green Onion 
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn 
• 2-3 Bay Leaf 
• 3 Star Anise 
• 5 Red Whole Chili (optional) 
• ½ cup of Soy Sauce 
• ¼ cup of Dark Soy Sauce 
• ⅛  cup Oyster Sauce 
• 4.5 tbsp of Brown Sugar or Rock Sugar 
• 3 tbsp of Chinese Cooking Wine (optional) 
• 2 cups of Water 

1. Cut the pork belly into 1.5-inch pieces. Add the pork belly to a pot filled with water and turn the heat to medium-high. Add in Sichuan peppercorn; let it cook for 10 minutes and rinse with cold water. Drain the pork belly and set it aside 
2. In a pan, turn the heat to medium-high and add Pork belly, ginger, and garlic. Pan fry for 2-3 minutes or until pork belly is slightly golden brown. 
3. Next, add green onion, star anise, whole red chili, bay leaf, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, Chinese cooking wine (optional), and water. 
4. Bring everything to a simmer, turn the heat down to low, and put the lid on for 30 minutes. Keep an eye out to prevent it from burning. 
5. After 30 minutes, turn the heat up to high and simmer on high heat for 5 minutes; this should thicken the sauce. Make sure to keep stirring to avoid it getting burned. 
6. Pair with rice and garnish with green onion. 

Print

4.50 from 2 votes

Sticky Pork Belly

If there is one dish that everyone will love, it is Sticky Pork Belly. Tender, savory, and packed with flavor, sticky pork belly is my favorite childhood recipe, and it will soon be yours too! If you want to save time, you can also check out my Instant Pot Braised Pork Belly, which is super delicious and quick to make at home. Get your rice ready because you will be licking your bowl and craving for seconds.

Prep Time30 mins

Active Time40 mins

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Taiwanese

Keyword: Asian Recipe Easy, Chinese Food, dinner Ideas, Easy, Easy Recipes, Instant Pot, Pork, Pork Recipe, Taiwanese Food, Taiwanese Recipes

Yield: 4 people

Materials

• 2.5 lb Pork Belly
• 4 thin slices of Ginger
• 10 cloves of Garlic smashed
• 2 Green Onion
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn
• 2-3 Bay Leaf
• 3 Star Anise
• 5 Red Whole Chili optional
• ½ cup of Soy Sauce
• ¼ cup of Dark Soy Sauce
• ⅛ cup Oyster Sauce
• 4.5 tbsp of Brown Sugar or Rock Sugar
• 3 tbsp of Chinese Cooking Wine optional
• 2 cups of Water

Instructions

• Cut the pork belly into 1.5-inch pieces. Add the pork belly to a pot filled with water and turn the heat to medium-high. Add in Sichuan peppercorn; let it cook for 10 minutes and rinse with cold water. Drain the pork belly and set it aside
• In a pan, turn the heat to medium-high and add Pork belly, ginger, and garlic. Pan fry for 2-3 minutes or until pork belly is slightly golden brown.
• Next, add green onion, star anise, whole red chili, bay leaf, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, Chinese cooking wine (optional), and water.
• Bring everything to a simmer, turn the heat down to low, and put the lid on for 30 minutes. Keep an eye out to prevent it from burning.
• After 30 minutes, turn the heat up to high and simmer on high heat for 5 minutes; this should thicken the sauce. Make sure to keep stirring to avoid it getting burned.
• Pair with rice and garnish with green onion.

Notes

If you want to save time when making Sticky Pork Belly, I highly recommend using an Instant Pot!