I LOVE me some crispy pork belly, I mean, who doesn’t? But if you’ve ever tried to make the Chinese style crispy pork belly with the bubbly skin, you know it’s not a quick and easy thing. Even with my recipe, which is one of the simplest out there, it's a 2-day process.
So THIS recipe, is much simpler. It's a Thai style fried pork belly that is unbelievably good, and it's only going to take you 30 minutes. I made this for a Thai friend, and after one bite and he said, "You need to sell this!" It was THAT good!
What is Thai Style Crispy Pork Belly?
Most people are familiar with the Cantonese style crispy pork belly or siu yuk, where the crispy part is the skin. The whole piece of pork is meticulously prepped and roasted; and when done well you get puffy, bubbly crispy skin.
This Thai style is called moo saam chun tod nam pla, which means "fish sauce fried pork belly." People do it in many different ways in Thailand, but the secret to deliciousness here is the fish sauce which goes incredibly well with pork.
It's coated lightly with flour, and even though it has no skin, there is a light crispness from the flour that gets double fried. It is 100x easier and faster than the crispy skin one, and though not as impressive looking, is no less delicious. In fact, some would even prefer this one!
In Thailand this would be considered a gub glam or "drinking food." Something munchy that goes very well with a cold drink, such as a beer! You might also find it sold by street vendors with sticky rice, and it makes a great breakfast for folks to grab on their way to work.
Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you'll need with important notes. As you can see you don't need much at all! For amounts, see the full recipe card below.
- Pork belly. We don't need the skin for this recipe, so if your pork has skin, buy a little extra to account for the lost weight of the skin that will be removed. Look for center cut pork belly which has a more even layer of meat throughout. I try to look for pieces with more meat and less fat, but that's up to your preference.
- Fish sauce. The main seasoning for this and the reason why it is SO good! Here's my post all about fish sauce and how to choose a good one.
- Sugar. A little to balance the saltiness, and it will also help with the browning.
- Ground white pepper. Black pepper is also fine.
- Cornstarch. For the crisp coating.
- All-purpose flour. If you need this to be gluten free you can use all cornstarch, but the flour does help with the browning as well.
How to Make Crispy Pork Belly
Here's a bird's eye view of the process, for the full instructions see the recipe card below. I also recommend watching the video tutorial before you start in order to ensure success!
- Pat the pork dry and remove the skin from the pork belly (if any).
- Cut the pork into 1-inch wide strips, then cut each strip into ¾ inch thick pieces.
- Add the fish sauce, sugar and pepper to the pork pieces and massage for a minute or so until there is no more liquid pooling in the bowl.
- Combine the cornstarch and flour and sprinkle over the pork.
- Toss until all the pieces are evenly coated in the flour. Carefully check that none of the pieces are sticking together! Let it sit while you heat up the oil.
- Heat 1 inch of frying oil to 350°F (175°C) and fry half of the pork for 2 minutes then remove from the oil - the pork will not be done at this point. Allow to cool on a tray while you fry the second batch.
- Once the pork is no hotter than lukewarm, bring the oil temp up to 385°F (196°C) and fry the pork again for about 90 seconds or until the pork is well browned.
- Remove and drain on a paper towel; repeat with the second batch. Allow to cool slightly before eating because the fatty part is VERY HOT!
Tips for Success
There are a couple of things that are important to your success:
- Don't fry the pork immediately after dredging. The flour needs at least 5 minutes to absorb the moisture on the pork which will help it adhere. If you fry as soon as you dredge, a lot of the flour will fall off the pork as soon as it hits the oil. Your pork won't have as nice of a crust, and you'll have a ton of flour in your frying oil. I recommend dredging before you heat the oil, or immediately after the oil starts heating, so the pork can sit while you wait for the oil.
- Let the pork cool before the second fry. If you don't let the pork cool enough, the pork will overcook during the second fry. The cooler the pork, the larger the window you have for the second fry before the pork overcooks. Room temp is ideal, but lukewarm is fine.
- Don't make the pieces too big or too small. If you cut the pork too big, you won't have as high of a crust to meat ratio. If you make the pork too small you'll overcook it in the time that it takes the crust to crisp. I found that 1 inch x ¾ inch (and whatever height of each pork piece) is ideal.
Advance Prep Tips
This is a crowd pleaser and something I encourage you to make for a party! It's also very easy to make in advance, and there are a number of things you can do:
- Marinate the pork up to 1 day in advance.
- Do the first frying a few hours before serving, and let the pork sit at room temp. Fry them the second time right before serving.
- If you don't want to have the oil sitting around, do both rounds of frying, let them sit at room temp, then when ready to serve reheat them for a few minutes in the air-fryer. This re-crisps them back up nicely too.
FAQ
The air fryer won't get the crust quite as nice and crisp, however, they reheat really well in the air fryer. I recommend oil frying them to cook them initially, but any leftovers can be reheated for just a few minutes in the air fryer at 350°F.
If you're in Thailand, you'd 100% be given nam jim jeaw along with your pork belly. It is the sauce that we serve with all meats, especially fatty meats, because the acid and heat cuts the grease super well. But if you're serving these with a cold fizzy beverage, it doesn't really need a sauce at all!
If you want to make a meal of it, sticky rice is the best and classic pairing!
I've kept leftovers for up to 1 week in the fridge, and reheat them in the air fryer for roughly 5 minutes at 350°F and they turn out very well.
Though I have not done it myself, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to freeze them, and then reheat them in the air fryer at 350°F, probably for 8-10 minutes.
Without an air fryer, you can bake them to reheat though it may not be as crispy, 375°F/190°C (convection if possible) for about 5-7 minutes from the fridge.
30-Min Crispy Pork Belly Thai-Style
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork belly, skinless , see note 1
- 1 ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour, see note 2
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- Frying oil, as needed
- Nam Jim Jeaw, optional dipping sauce
Notes
- The weight given is for skinless pork belly. So if the pork you buy has skin, buy at least 1.2 lb/550g (add 20%) to allow for the weight of the skin. Also, choose pork belly with an even amount of meat throughout the piece (center cut).
- To make this gluten free, sub the all-purpose flour with the same amount of cornstarch.
FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video to ensure success. If you enjoy them, consider subscribing to the YouTube Channel to not miss an episode. Thank you!
Subscribe to my YouTube ChannelInstructions
- Pat the pork belly dry as much as possible with a paper towel, then remove the skin with a sharp knife, leaving as much of the fat on it as possible (unless you want to remove some of the fat).1 lb pork belly, skinless
- Cut the pork into 1-inch wide strips, and then cut each strip into pieces about ¾-inch thick. (The pork will shrink after frying so the final pieces will be smaller).
- Place the pork into a large mixing bowl and add the fish sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Use your hand to massage the pork and mix all the seasonings. Keep massaging for a minute or so until you no longer feel the grains of sugar, and there is no more fish sauce pooling at the bottom of the bowl.1 ½ tablespoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- In a small bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and the cornstarch and mix well. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pork and mix well, making sure none of the pieces are sticking together. You want a light and even coating on all the pieces. Let it sit for 5 mins or so while you heat up the oil.2 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- Add at least 1 inch of frying oil to a wok or a medium pot and heat it to 350°F (175°C) for the first fry.
- First Fry: Add half of the pork, placing it in the hot oil one piece at a time to ensure they are not sticking together. Fry for 2 minutes (time this). Maintain the heat of the oil between 300-350°F during the frying; on my electric stove I keep it on medium high, but it will vary from stove to stove.
- Remove the pork promptly and place on a plate to cool until it’s no more than lukewarm before frying them a second time. Repeat with the second batch, being sure to bring the oil temp back up to 350°F before frying.
- Second Fry: Once the pork is cool, bring the oil temp up to 385°F(196°C) over high heat. Add the pork all at once and fry for 70-90 seconds, or until the exterior is a deep golden brown. You can fry them for a maximum of 2 minutes; beyond this the pork will become too dry. Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Be sure to bring the temp back up to 385°F before frying the second batch.
- Allow the pork to cool for a few minutes before digging in as the fatty part of the pork is VERY hot out of the fryer!!
John L. Robinson says
Just a thought. I have no experience with this at all, but for a gluten-free coating blend, would it work to use potato starch/flour or rice flour as alternatives to wheat flour? I would think the potato or rice flour would brown better than using 100% cornstarch for the coating?
I will leave that up to your expertise, as I really have no experience with the browning capabilities of potato or rice flours.
Pailin Chongchitnant says
I don't think it would make a difference in terms of browning, but potato or rice flour would definitely work as a sub.
Jim says
You know this fry method works so well with double cut ribs, double meat on each side of the rib bone. Great on wing flats. Going to do drumlets tonights. Leaving the flour mix to "soak" into the meat was the trick i've been so looking for.
Thank you for this website. I've been living in Thailand for four years and your tutelage has made me a pretty dam good Thai cook. 55555 I'm a Canadian from just north of Calgary.
Thank you
Brian Buchbinder says
Excellent. Had some frozen belly strips in the freezer, and this was perfect after thawing for a quick supplement to some Chinese broccoli and rice.
Alan says
WOW delicious and easy. Was just looking to use up some pork belly I had in the freezer but this recipe is going into my rotating more!
Gail O. says
Wow, this is amazing! Super quick, easy and delicious!!! I will make this again and again. The only things I did were 1) exchange the flour and cornstarch for Arrowroot starch and 2)swapped out the sugar for allulose. They came out a deep rich brown and crispy. Thanks for a great recipe and technique.
MARILOU LACY says
OMG!!! I made it today and it’s amazing!!!! We all love it and so freaking easy, thank you sooo much for sharing
Chris J says
wow. definitely a top hit for my wife and I. As getting a nice, clean slab of pork belly here in the Philippines can be a challenge (bones, ribs still present) I had to cut off a bit of the slab but worth the effort. Very flavorful--woulda been better with sticky rice rather than the Jasmine I'm sure. And so easy!
Raquel says
Wow! This is the best pork belly recipe I have ever tried! Thank you so much for this knowledge! Yum and yum!
Rhona Swartz says
Awesome!! My family loves this!!! New t-go-to in my household!!
Natalie says
This was so easy and SO GOOD! We’re definitely putting this into regular rotation!
Cheng says
Hi just wonder can I do the 1st fry at night then then 2nd fry the next morning ? Will this work ?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Yep, totally would!
nick says
Dish came out perfect the wife loved it
Eugene Hardwick says
If we look at things from a perspective, once the skin is removed from the Pork Belly, what you have left is basically uncured bacon. So Scratchings, Cracklings, Crunch Rinds and Fat Back are just a variation on the theme. Rinds are the only ones that have a shelf life as the others have meat the needs refrigeration. This recipe to me is an ideal finger food and I just can't stop eating them once started. I like the idea of preparing the "chunks" as I call them with the seasonings in place in the refrigerator and in ten minutes you have a crowd pleaser that is not greasy. From my experience, the skin can be left on and hole punched and it adds another dimension. Also I like using the Chines 5 spice mixture for rubbing.
Nicole Campbell says
Family said the pork could have used a little salt. Don’t know if they were being picky?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
I'm very surprised by that cuz if anything, this is a relatively salty dish. If you measure/weight all ingredients as per the recipe, and cut the pork to the right size (if it's too big it will absorb less fish sauce) that should not be an issue.
Mike says
Made this one last night. It turned out perfect just your video.
I then used it sliced a bit finer to make a pad kraprao tossing these in at the last minute so they would stay crispy. The pad kraprao was a bit of a whats left in the fridge version so it sliced asparagus and red bell pepper. Its a winner.
I think this could also work with the hot thai chicken recipe sauce.
Hi from Australia!
Regina Antonio says
Pailin, you make everything sound so easy and delicious. I just love everything about you and your video blogs!
I asked my husband to make this and the results were soooo good! I reheated the leftovers in the air fryer which allowed more fat to get rendered and the pieces crisped up nicely. The tradeoff however was the meat lost a lot of its juice. But I didn't mind it at all because for me, it was all about the crunch. We will make this again and again!
Susan Savetwith says
I made this for dinner with stirfried veggies and spicy dipping sauce. I’m caucasian American married my Thai husband over 40 years ago. We live in north central Wisconsin. It’s often hard to find ingredients. But I’ve been cooking Thai food FOREVER. I never attempted this pork belly dish. So THANK YOU!
Pailin Chongchitnant says
awww thank you!
Andrew Eames says
Turned out great. Only thing that could've been better is if I had used the recommended "center cut" pork belly, but I was using up what I already had. Really appreciate this recipe for making crispy pork belly more accessible!
Melvin Scott West says
WoW! pretty much sums it up. Must make the light Nam Jim Jeaw sauce to go with it.
Melanie says
What did you do with the pork skin after taking it off…
Pailin Chongchitnant says
I discarded it, but you can make crispy pork rind with it if you want.
Hera says
I have now made this twice with pork belly from the grocery store. The first time, the piece of pork belly was a perfect mix of fat and meatiness. The end result was so tender and and crispy. I also wanted to cry it was that good.
The second time, the grocery store didn't have fatty pieces of belly, so I went with a pieces that was mostly meaty. I did everything else the same, and the result was much chewier and less tender. Don't be a Hera. Get the piece that looks like the picture in this post.
I served it with sticky rice and lettuce for wrapping, and since I couldn't find tamarind, a dipping sauce with lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, chillies, sugar, and cilantro. It is really, really great.
Bud says
I have an abundance of rice flour. Can you substitute rice flour for the AP flour? Or will the browning not be similar?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
You can use the rice flour instead of the cornstarch, not the AP flour.
Stephen Bennett says
I've been watching your channel for a few years. Tried this recipe today and it was excellent! Very easy and delicious. Double frying always brings the best texture. I tossed the cooked pork belly pieces in Mae Ploy sweet Thai chili sauce and served it with white rice and quick pickled cucumbers. Yum.
Bob says
So...I just went on a binge and started with the videos from 14 years ago. And I noticed something: YOU DIDN'T AGE AT ALL!!!!! WTH?!! Thai-vampires confirmed!
Kevin Badenas says
What happens if I fry with skin on? Will it affect overall taste and texture?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
The skin will be very chewy.
Maga Ma says
I made this tonight and put it in a homemade bao bun with pickled shallots and OMG this is fantastic. Thank you so much for making this possible.
Pailin Chongchitnant says
So glad to hear!
Nuriah says
Hi Ms Pai,
Is it possible to use this recipe on beef brisket or beef flank? Thank you
Pailin Chongchitnant says
I wouldn't use beef for this recipe it would be too tough.
John Jarvis says
Looks absolutely wonderful, I have a skinless 8lb pork belly in my fridge, will try this tomorrow evening for supper, thank you!!
Beth Prudencio says
bccp0118@gmail.com.. will love your crispy belly in 30 mins…thanks for sharing