It is a prized part of the pig that’s loved by many. Cooked low and slow, the meat melts in your mouth. Roasted low and slow, the crunch factor of the crackling is unbeatable, and the meat soft and succulent.
If you’ve ever eaten bacon (sometimes labelled as streaky bacon), you’ve had pork belly. If you have ever had pancetta, you’ve eaten pork belly. If you love Porchetta – Italian rolled roast pork, then you like pork belly and if one of your favourite things to order at a Chinese restaurant is Siu Yuk, Cantonese-style roast pork, then you have had pork belly. There are many steamed pork buns in Asian cuisines in which braised and twice-cooked pork belly is the star. Nestled between pillowy soft white buns, these flavourful meaty bao buns are an experience. Memorable ones. I can still remember the first time I had such a bun at David Chang’s Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village in New York, a little over 12 years ago.