Best Sticky Pork Belly (Taiwanese Caramel Pork)

This sticky pork belly will make your mouth water and make you want to eat more bowls of rice. You have to try it. This Taiwanese-style caramelized pork recipe is my grandmother’s. It is slightly sweet, savory, tender, and melts in your mouth.
In Taiwanese families, this dish is a must for every mother, but every family has its own recipe. My grandmother adds Szechuan peppercorns and dry chili to give the caramel pork an extra earthy flavor, but it’s not spicy at all. It’s better than in a Chinese restaurant.

Tips for sticky pork belly:

1. Use thick pork belly with skin and cut it 1 1/4″ wide. Because when you sear the pork belly, it shrinks. So don’t take it too thin or cut it too small.
2. If you use the skin of the pork belly, it’ll make the dish sticky. And after braising, the skin becomes tender and melts in the mouth.
3. Don’t add oil to sear the pork belly. This releases its fat again. Make sure you sear both sides until golden brown. This will make the pork belly less oily and retain its texture. Otherwise, it’ll fall apart easily after braising. This allows pork belly to sear well and prevents it from becoming watery.
4. Add sugar and then soy sauce to caramelize the pork before adding other spices. It’s best to add some dark soy sauce. It gives the pork more color.

What do you need:

2.2 lb Pork Belly, skin on
60ml soy sauce (4tbsps)
30ml dark soy sauce (2 tbsps)
30ml cooking wine
6 slices ginger
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
3-star anises
5 Red dry chili
4 tbsps sugar
150ml water
15 -20 bird eggs or eggs

How to make:

1. Cut the pork belly to 1 1/4″ width.
2. Separate the fatty meat from the lean meat.
3. Heat the pan over a high heat, don’t add oil, but add the fatty part.
4. Turn when the underside is golden brown, after both sides are golden brown.
5. Leave the middle part empty and add the lean meat. Fry both sides until golden brown.

6. Add the sugar and ginger and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce and dark soy sauce and fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cooking wine and water.
7. Simmer over a low to medium heat for 30 minutes until the meat is tender.
8. Poke it with a chopstick to check if it’s tender.
9. Then turn the heat up to high and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes on high to thicken.
10. Make sure you keep stirring so that it doesn’t burn.

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Watch How To Make: