Although i am satisfied with the crackling in Roast Pork II, I had to try out a different way besides poking the skin. I had marinated 5 pieces of belly pork and it had been in the fridge to dry out since last night. i started the grill and scored the skin of one piece with a very sharp knife, like how you would score the diamond cut on the squid(see the first picture). I put the scored piece and the plain one for grilling. After 15 minutes of grilling with both top and bottom fire, i found that the scored piece had already started to crackled, while the plain one was just soft enough for poking. So, i started poking the softened skin with the craving fork and then returned it to the grill. This time with the top grill only for another 15 minutes. The scored piece was already crackling from the edges and looking good while the poked piece had no reaction at all. Turned on the grill for another 15 minutes and then only the poked piece was starting to crackle slightly while the scored piece is almost done crackling all over the skin. I sprinkled salt on to the skin 5 minutes before the time is up. The poked piece had to go another 2 rounds of 15 minutes before it totally crackled. To prove that scoring was the way to go, i scored the other 3 pieces and grilled the same way as the above and they were perfect(second picture). So, the conclusion to perfect crackling is SCORING THE SKIN and have the belly pork in 2 inches strips rather than one whole big piece.
Score the skin after blanching in vinegar bath and sprinkle with salt(the salt might pull out some moisture) ( I found that it was hard to score after drying in the fridge , that's why i am recommending to score before drying).
Leave uncovered in the fridge to dry out for at least 12 - 24 hours.
I love your blog! My name is Julie and I am a Singaporean living in Seattle right now. Your blog makes me just wanna cook everything! Anyway, I have a question for you, I noticed a lot of the ingredients in your recipes are given in "weight"... do you have any brand of weighing machine you would suggest that I buy? Should I get a spring or digital scale? THANKS!!
Wow! Lily, your Siew Yuk looks really good. I am afraid to make it at home ... if not good ... hubby will have to eat it for lunch for the next 5 days (LOL!!!) and he won't be a very happy camper!! BTW, I made the Salted Egg following yur recipe. It's ready, can't wait to try them!!!
Loved your blog - stumbled upon it browsing through mybuddies.net. I am Chinese and living in Florida. I have tried making the roast pork II; my son and my american husband loved it. The skin did not crackle as much, so I will be trying this new method this weekend. Thank you.
Hi Lily, I am Patricia from Malaysia.Really looking forward to read your blog. Always hope to try out all your recipe.Through my experience,i will leave the marinated roast pork in the fridge (chiller or cooler box) to dry for at least 3 days.To my suprise it turn out great as it is very crispy.Usually i will rub the skin with plenty of salt and then rub it over with vinegar on top of it. It really did turn out very,very crispy. Thank you for all your wonderful and delicious recipe. Looking forward to enjoy all your recipe!!!!!!!!
I tried making the roast pork today. For a first try, I'd say it's ok but not perfect. My first mistake was probably cutting the pork in half, which made it smaller and uneven. However, I will try to make it again. A couple of questions first. Why did you have to scald the pork skin in vinegar water? How did you know if it's properly scalded? The pork that I bought had ribs still attached to it. Should I have removed the bones before preparing it for roast pork? Plus my oven is an old one, which is not convection. During the broiling stage, it started to crackle and blacken within 5 mins. I had to turn the heat down. Should I have started the broiling stage at a lower heat instead for a more even browning like yours? Thanks.
don't remove the bones from the meat, the bone will help to hold the meat and prevent shrinking. you might have to cook longer to get the meat cooked - on the bone side. the meat has to be at least 6 - 8 inches away from the top elements and you should know your oven. use the lower heat of the broiler and cook longer, eventually the skin will crackle. timing defers everytime as the meat is different everytime and you would have to eyeball it rather than depend on the time given.
i like to scald the skin as it will be easier to score but my sister who makes very good roast pork, does not scald.
hi Lily, I am trying your pork recipe today.I have scald the skin with vinegar water as stated.and rub the meat part with salt mixture.My question is do I need to salt the rind over night too or just rub with oil before roasting and spinkle with salt when it's time to broil? diane
in fact, i could roast a very good crackling with my oven even without let it dry out in the fridge overnight. The scoring of the skin is important. Score well and the crackling will be good.
hi Lily, the skin came out perfectly crispy.the meat part was a little bland, am afraid the salt mixture didn't penetrate. it sat in the fridge over night. do you think i can make a paste with soy sauce and smear it on the meat portion?have you try brushing the rind with red vinegar instead of blanching? thank you for posting all 3 recipes it help a lot. diane
play with your food. you can use whatever you wish. my sister likes hers with tau cheong/mein see. i like mine bland so that i can taste the juiciness of the pork. Make a dip of cut chillies and soya sauce, it goes very well.
Great Recipes and great advice on scoring the rind to get the crackles faster and better. Just would like to share with others who visit your block. For the marinate, I add in a piece or two of RED PRESERVED BEAN CURD (DOU FU RU in Mandarin OR FUYI in Cantonese)and some shaoxing rice wine. I use to rotate in using different recipes to get different tastes. For your info, don't worry if the pork skin is burnt or turn out black, just scrap the carbon away and you still get your nice roasted pork. Thanks for sharing your great recipes and cooking tips with us.
My hubby and I made siew yoke following your recipe & tips..it taste so great..the crackling looked very nice...however it's a bit too hard to chew..any advice so it's just crispy enough and not too hard?
for crispier crackling, it has to be broiled/grilled until very brown. Undergrilling will make it hard. To really achieve good crackling, dry the skin thoroughly, the longer it sits in the fridge the better. Use more vinegar to rub the skin before putting into oven. At the last minute of grilling, blast with salt on the crackling.
Another method is to put meat snuggly tugged into a cake pan with skin up and then top with alot of coarse salt. Bake for 1/2 hr to draw out moisture. Then remove from oven and remove salt and cake pan. Grill the meat side and continue grilling as in recipe.
Would it be better if i were to blanch the pork in the vinegar water mixture then score the skin? Then apply the marinade and leave it uncovered in the fridge instea of scoring the next day? My friend who did a really good siew yoke said that she did that and scoring the skin plus leaving the salt on overnight really helps to draw out the moisture.
yes, blanching the skin before scoring is so much easier. Now, i have been lazy and did not dry it in the fridge. i will just bake and grill/broil the belly pork as soon as i rub in the marinate to the meat and vinegar to the scored skin. It will crackle and the result is very good.
yes, blanching the skin before scoring is so much easier. Now, i have been lazy and did not dry it in the fridge. i will just bake and grill/broil the belly pork as soon as i rub in the marinate to the meat and vinegar to the scored skin. It will crackle and the result is very good.
i was the raymond who ask your advice to roast soft char siew and suggested adding arrowroot flour to kueh bangkit so that it melts in your mouth. the secret to achieve crackling skin every time is 1)oven must be the right one and the temperature must be turn on to the highest for at least 20mins 2)when poking the skin be careful not to over poke the fat to the meat, otherwise juice from the meat will ooze to the skin and wet it then the skin turns soft.
Look good Lily,
ReplyDeleteYou "grilled" as in BBQ grill?
winnie
ReplyDeleteno, it is the broiler in the oven that has the microwave, roasting, baking. the best part is the turntable rotates even when you are broiling
Hi Lily,
ReplyDeleteI love your blog! My name is Julie and I am a Singaporean living in Seattle right now. Your blog makes me just wanna cook everything! Anyway, I have a question for you, I noticed a lot of the ingredients in your recipes are given in "weight"... do you have any brand of weighing machine you would suggest that I buy? Should I get a spring or digital scale? THANKS!!
Wow! Lily, your Siew Yuk looks really good. I am afraid to make it at home ... if not good ... hubby will have to eat it for lunch for the next 5 days (LOL!!!) and he won't be a very happy camper!!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I made the Salted Egg following yur recipe. It's ready, can't wait to try them!!!
Thanks!
julie
ReplyDeleteif you can afford it get a digital. i am using Poulder digital.
Hi Lily,
ReplyDeleteLoved your blog - stumbled upon it browsing through mybuddies.net. I am Chinese and living in Florida. I have tried making the roast pork II; my son and my american husband loved it. The skin did not crackle as much, so I will be trying this new method this weekend. Thank you.
Dear Lily,
ReplyDeleteI have been craving for roast pork for a long time. Two weeks ago, I bought 2 strips of raw pork and left them in the fridger.
Using your recipe to marinate, I attempted to make roast pork. Posted a few photos on my blog: www.hipfood.wordpress.com.
Thank you very much for the recipe.
Hi Lily,
ReplyDeleteI am Patricia from Malaysia.Really looking forward to read your blog. Always hope to try out all your recipe.Through my experience,i will leave the marinated roast pork in the fridge (chiller or cooler box) to dry for at least 3 days.To my suprise it turn out great as it is very crispy.Usually i will rub the skin with plenty of salt and then rub it over with vinegar on top of it. It really did turn out very,very crispy. Thank you for all your wonderful and delicious recipe. Looking forward to enjoy all your recipe!!!!!!!!
I tried making the roast pork today. For a first try, I'd say it's ok but not perfect. My first mistake was probably cutting the pork in half, which made it smaller and uneven. However, I will try to make it again. A couple of questions first. Why did you have to scald the pork skin in vinegar water? How did you know if it's properly scalded? The pork that I bought had ribs still attached to it. Should I have removed the bones before preparing it for roast pork? Plus my oven is an old one, which is not convection. During the broiling stage, it started to crackle and blacken within 5 mins. I had to turn the heat down. Should I have started the broiling stage at a lower heat instead for a more even browning like yours?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
yenpeng
ReplyDeletedon't remove the bones from the meat, the bone will help to hold the meat and prevent shrinking. you might have to cook longer to get the meat cooked - on the bone side. the meat has to be at least 6 - 8 inches away from the top elements and you should know your oven. use the lower heat of the broiler and cook longer, eventually the skin will crackle. timing defers everytime as the meat is different everytime and you would have to eyeball it rather than depend on the time given.
i like to scald the skin as it will be easier to score but my sister who makes very good roast pork, does not scald.
Hi there =)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips for roast pork.
The skin came out perfect!
hi Lily,
ReplyDeleteI am trying your pork recipe today.I have scald the skin with vinegar water as stated.and rub the meat part with salt mixture.My question is do I need to salt the rind over night too or just rub with oil before roasting and spinkle with salt when it's time to broil?
diane
diane
ReplyDeletein fact, i could roast a very good crackling with my oven even without let it dry out in the fridge overnight. The scoring of the skin is important. Score well and the crackling will be good.
hi Lily,
ReplyDeletethe skin came out perfectly crispy.the meat part was a little bland, am afraid the salt mixture didn't penetrate. it sat in the fridge over night. do you think i can make a paste with soy sauce and smear it on the meat portion?have you try brushing the rind with red vinegar instead of blanching? thank you for posting all 3 recipes it help a lot.
diane
diane
ReplyDeleteplay with your food. you can use whatever you wish. my sister likes hers with tau cheong/mein see. i like mine bland so that i can taste the juiciness of the pork. Make a dip of cut chillies and soya sauce, it goes very well.
I use whatever vinegar i have in hand.
Great Recipes and great advice on scoring the rind to get the crackles faster and better. Just would like to share with others who visit your block. For the marinate, I add in a piece or two of RED PRESERVED BEAN CURD (DOU FU RU in Mandarin OR FUYI in Cantonese)and some shaoxing rice wine. I use to rotate in using different recipes to get different tastes. For your info, don't worry if the pork skin is burnt or turn out black, just scrap the carbon away and you still get your nice roasted pork.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your great recipes and cooking tips with us.
Hi Lily,
ReplyDeleteMy hubby and I made siew yoke following your recipe & tips..it taste so great..the crackling looked very nice...however it's a bit too hard to chew..any advice so it's just crispy enough and not too hard?
jaclyndsy
ReplyDeletefor crispier crackling, it has to be broiled/grilled until very brown. Undergrilling will make it hard. To really achieve good crackling, dry the skin thoroughly, the longer it sits in the fridge the better. Use more vinegar to rub the skin before putting into oven. At the last minute of grilling, blast with salt on the crackling.
Another method is to put meat snuggly tugged into a cake pan with skin up and then top with alot of coarse salt. Bake for 1/2 hr to draw out moisture. Then remove from oven and remove salt and cake pan. Grill the meat side and continue grilling as in recipe.
Would it be better if i were to blanch the pork in the vinegar water mixture then score the skin? Then apply the marinade and leave it uncovered in the fridge instea of scoring the next day? My friend who did a really good siew yoke said that she did that and scoring the skin plus leaving the salt on overnight really helps to draw out the moisture.
ReplyDeletelilian85
ReplyDeleteyes, blanching the skin before scoring is so much easier. Now, i have been lazy and did not dry it in the fridge. i will just bake and grill/broil the belly pork as soon as i rub in the marinate to the meat and vinegar to the scored skin. It will crackle and the result is very good.
lilian85
ReplyDeleteyes, blanching the skin before scoring is so much easier. Now, i have been lazy and did not dry it in the fridge. i will just bake and grill/broil the belly pork as soon as i rub in the marinate to the meat and vinegar to the scored skin. It will crackle and the result is very good.
hi lily
ReplyDeletei was the raymond who ask your advice to roast soft char siew and suggested adding arrowroot flour to kueh bangkit so that it melts in your mouth. the secret to achieve crackling skin every time is 1)oven must be the right one and the temperature must be turn on to the highest for at least 20mins 2)when poking the skin be careful not to over poke the fat to the meat, otherwise juice from the meat will ooze to the skin and wet it then the skin turns soft.
raymond
raymond
ReplyDeletethanks for the tips