Chinese cured pork belly 腊肉 pronounced là ròu in Mandarin and lop yuk in Cantonese is a staple in Chinese cuisine. Late autumn/early winter is a great time to make this at home. I just whipped up two batches, and I couldn’t believe how good it was! The first batch was quickly divided up and given out as gifts, and I had to promptly make another batch for ourselves. I have to say, this is one of the best versions of this Chinese cured pork belly or maybe any Chinese cured meat that I’ve ever had.
It was originally not in the plan to do this as a recipe post for the blog, knowing that it probably wouldn’t be as popular as our Milk Bread or Pork Fried Rice, but one night, I threw a piece of this cured pork belly into the rice cooker and cooked it together with the rice, and Sarah and Kaitlin demolished the entire thing! It was decided on the spot that we needed to document this homemade Chinese cured pork belly recipe for future generations.
For the longest time, the only person in the family that made this cured pork belly was Bill’s grandmother, who is 95 years old and still lives in Chinatown. Every year, when winter chases away autumn, she makes a large batch and shares it with her kids and grandkids––all four generations have been eating the lap yuk she makes for years now. Whenever we ask her for the recipe, she always talks about how easy it is. In her own words: “Just marinate the pork in some light soy sauce, ginger, some wine, and a little bit of whiskey, and hang it by the window. That’s it.”
She is right…it is pretty simple. But our instructions are thankfully a little more detailed!
Notes:
- The color of the pork belly in the photos came out darker than I’d have liked. I made adjustments to the recipe accordingly by reducing the amount of dark soy sauce.
- If you don’t have baijiu (白酒), a Chinese hard liquor that’s traditionally used in this recipe, whiskey is a good alternative. Remember to mix the hard liquor with the sauce after it’s completely cooled off.
- Make sure all the utensils, containers and your hands are squeaky clean as you prepare the pork belly for curing.
- The drying condition should be cool, dry and with air flow, temperature should be around 50 – 60 degree Fahrenheit.
- Store-bought lap yuk is usually available in longer pieces. I cut each piece in half, as each piece is a good portion for one dish.
Chinese Cured Pork Belly: Recipe Instructions
In a small saucepan, add the ginger, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, Sichuan peppercorns, salt, dark soy sauce (老抽), light soy sauce (生抽), Shaoxing wine, and sugar. Place the pot over medium heat, and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. The process should only take a few minutes. Shut off the heat and allow to cool completely.
While waiting for the sauce to cool, rinse the pork belly and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. The pork should be as dry as possible. Arrange the pieces neatly in a shallow, rimmed dish.
Once the sauce has completely cooled, stir in the baijiu (白酒 – a Chinese liquor) or whiskey.
Pour the mixture over the pork, making sure the meat is completely submerged. You can even put a clean plate or bowl on top to weight down the meat. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 3 full days, flipping the pork belly once each day to ensure the sauce penetrates the meat evenly.
After 3 days, it’s time to hang them up to cure. Use kitchen string and a bamboo skewer to thread the string through the fat in the pork belly.
Tie a knot to make a sturdy loop, and hang the pork belly in a cool dry place. I used our basement, which has optimal temperature and humidity levels (you want the temperature to remain around 50-55 degrees F, and the relative humidity should be around 65%. I kept the window open during the day to let in fresh air. The window is screened and we close off the room to keep out houses flies and any other critters out. Note: this cured pork belly is best made during the colder months!
Layer some newspaper over some plastic on the floor to catch any liquid that drips from the pork, and let it dry for 4-6 days until the outer layer is completely dry and the inside is still slightly soft when pressed. To store, put in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible. They can be frozen for up to 3 months for dishes like this Hong Kong Style Clay Pot Rice!
Clay pot rice is a well-known dish in Hong Kong and Guangdong in the winter months. You want to know how popular? It’s so popular that many restaurants start making them before customers actually walk in the door. This is how certain they are that they will be sold. Along with some blanched choy sum, you got yourself a perfect comforting meal that’s over the top. And that’s just one other application for this cured pork belly!
To prepare this pork belly in the most simple (and delicious) way, just add rice and water to your rice cooker as you normally would to cook a batch of white rice. Then just toss a piece of this cured pork belly on top, close the lid and press START.
Once the rice is done steaming, your pork belly will also be heated through. Slice up your lap yuk and mix it with your rice!
It is soooo good!
Side note: Barley could barely contain herself while we were taking photos for this post. We had to shoo her away from the delicious smell of cured pork belly quite a few times!
Chinese Cured Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 3 slices ginger
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/3 cup dark soy sauce
- 1/2 cup light soy sauce
- 1 cup Shaoxing wine
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 lbs boneless pork belly
- 3 tablespoons baijiu (a Chinese liquor; can substitute whiskey)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add the ginger, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, soy sauces, Shaoxing wine, and sugar. Place the pot over medium heat, and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. The process should only take a few minutes. Shut off the heat and allow to cool completely.
- While waiting for the sauce to cool, rinse the pork belly and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. The pork should be as dry as possible. Arrange the pieces neatly in a shallow, rimmed dish.
- Once the sauce has completely cooled, stir in the baijiu or whiskey. Pour the mixture over the pork, making sure the meat is completely submerged. You can even put a clean plate or bowl on top to weight down the meat. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 3 full days, flipping the pork belly once each day to ensure the sauce penetrates the meat evenly.
- After 3 days, it’s time to hang them up to cure. Use kitchen string and a bamboo skewer to thread the string through the fat in the pork belly. Tie a knot to make a sturdy loop, and hang the pork belly in a cool dry place. I used our basement, which has optimal temperature and humidity levels (you want the temperature to remain around 50-55 degrees F, and the relative humidity should be around 65%. I kept the window open during the day to let in fresh air. Note: this cured pork belly is best made during the colder months!
- Layer some newspaper on the floor to catch any liquid that drips from the pork, and let it dry for 4-6 days until the outer layer is completely dry and the inside is still slightly soft when pressed. To store, put in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible.
- To prepare this pork belly in the most simple (and delicious) way, just add rice and water to your rice cooker as you normally would to cook a batch of white rice. Then just toss a piece of pork belly on top and steam as normal. Once the rice is done steaming, your pork belly will also be heated through. Slice it up and mix it with your rice!
nutrition facts
Thanks Judy! I used brandy! We have 20deg weather, so I decided to hang them inside the cold oven to cure. I will give you an update.
Yes, please :-)
Hi Judy. I want to ask if I can use brandy as substitute for whiskey? Thanks.
Yes, Anne, brandy is a great choice.
Is there a maximum drying time before it’s no longer foodsafe? My room temp is closer to 55F so taking longer. Also, I read elsewhere that the weight should decrease by 30% as a guide for curing guide. It’s been 5 days and only 10% lighter. Any thoughts on this? Also, can the curing liquid be frozen and reused for a future batch. Thanks in advance for your reply.
Hi Lily, drying time has to do with salt level and humidity level, not so much with length of time. In this case, the drying is done once the meat is dry outside and still soft inside when pressing.
Hi, I am anxious to try your recipe however, I do not want to dry the pork bellies outside or in the basement. I see that you can air dry in the refrigerator. Thinking of hanging them from a wire rack in the mini refrigerator. How long should they be dried this way in the refrigerator and what temperature should the refrigerator be? When it has completely dried, how long will it keep in the refrigerator or should I freeze it?
Hi Victoria, you can refrigerate them to dry until the surface is hard but inside is somewhat soft. I think this process will take about 2 – 3 days.
I have made this recipe once by following it to the letter and letting it sit inside the cold grill during winter– it turned out great! Wanting to do it again since we’re stuck in a snowstorm and my pork belly is reaching its date… but I don’t have star anise! :( can I still make this recipe without it?
Yes, make it :-)
I made it. Living in AZ, winters are mild so I hung it out in the garage at night and left it in the fridge by day. My biggest problem was figuring out when it was done. After 6 nights, it was dry but the fats were soft not firm. I cut a piece off and the inner meat was much pinker than the outside, and your photos. I fried the piece I cut off and it tastes marinated enough (as opposed to unmarinated cooked pork belly) so I suppose that wraps it up. It’s in the freezer now waiting for the lunar new year, and I’ve decided to attempt duck (lap ngap) next!
Good idea, Rachel, please give me an update after you are done with lap ngap :-)
Made lap ngap :) used a maker’s mark whiskey, salt, hsiaoxing wine, and soy sauce for marinade, then hung it out for 5 nights + another 5 in the fridge before moving it to the freezer. Apparently rose wine is the recommended hard alcohol but I couldn’t find it over here. Both meats + 2 different types of lapcheong made it to my claypot for lap mei fan. Thanks again for the detailed receipe!
That’s great, Rachel! I am glad :-)
Hey Judy, can’t wait to try this recipe! I was just wondering if it is possible to cure these to the point where they can be eaten without cooking? Like prosciutto or bresola for example. Thanks!
Hi Richard, I am not a food scientist, so I don’t know enough to answer your question :-)
I hung this last night. I can’t wait to try it I can’t figure out how to send you pictures
Hi Michael, to be on the safe side, please keep a fan on it for at least 8 hours a day, because I see people are having mold issues. The air should be very cool and circulated. Good luck. (BTW, you can share your pictures on our FB account or Instagram account.)
Hi!
Can I use the same recipe to make cured fish?
Thanks!
Hi Ming, I have not tried it and I still need to look into it.
Hi
I’m from Singapore where temp is usually warm .Today is 36.2C.Can i make d cured meat?