Sous Vide Asian Pork Belly
Today I am sharing a recipe for one of my favorite cuts of meat…The humble Pork Belly. Pork belly is something I enjoy making (and eating!!) so I decided to try a new technique when making it and did a Sous Vide Asian Pork Belly.
Some people have yet to embrace sous vide cooking, it took me a while. I don’t know about you but when new cooking gadgets come out, often I say to myself…I like how I do it or I can do that with what I have, however, once I decide to try the “it” out, I am like what took me so long!
It was the same way with digital cameras for me and sometimes I am like that with new to me foods. Then, the next thing you know I am all about it. Is it just me??
Why Sous Vide?
Here’s the thing about sous vide cooking. You end up with incredibly moist, tender proteins (meat and fish). Sure you sous vide other things like eggs, veggies, and even some desserts. However, for me, meat and certain seafood’s are what sous vide cooking are all about.
I mean, just LOOK at that sexy bite! Super-moist on the inside and everything you want it to be on the outside! Swoon!
One of the coolest gadgets on the market is a FoodSaver® Vacuum Sealing System. When you cook sous-vide, FoodSaver® FoodSaver® Sous-vide Vacuum Seal Bags are your BFF’s!
They are air-tight and don’t float up which is important when cooking sous-vide. The heat seal is perfect as well, so no worries about anything leaking after it seals.
This machine has saved me money in the years I have had it! It is great for prepping for sous vide cooking. Fantastic for portioning and freezing meats, grains, vegetables and more AND I love using the heat seal to reseal all the bags of chips and snacks my family tear open. Keeps things FRESH!
You can easily prolong the life of good buys at the grocery store, farmers market or wherever you shop.
Ingredients
- pork belly
- soy sauce
- garlic paste or minced garlic
- ginger paste or minced ginger
- sesame oil
- chili with garlic sauce
- brown sugar
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- ¼ tsp cornstarch
After the sous-vide part was complete, I placed the pork belly pieces in the fridge overnight. The next evening, I sliced them into chunks and pan seared them. I then made a super simple glaze and served them with some grilled scallions and rice.
I was happy how my Sous Vide Asian Glazed Pork Belly turned out. It was so moist and flavorful.
I know not everyone is comfortable cooking sous vide, so if you are dying for some homemade pork belly, check out my recipe for Slow Roasted Pork Belly Bites over Jalapeno Slaw (below). I didn’t want to leave you hanging with no way to enjoy some delicious pork belly! Enjoy! XO Colleen
Favorite recipes with pork to try
Since I am neither a registered dietitian or nutritionist, I use a WordPress plug in to calculate the nutritional information. This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on one and happen to purchase something, I may receive a small commission.
Sous Vide Asian Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds pork belly either one piece or two smaller ones
- Cooking Liquid
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 2 TBS garlic paste or minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste or minced ginger
- 2 TBS sesame oil
- 3 TBS chili with garlic sauce
- 1 TBS brown sugar
- Glaze
- 2 TBS brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 TBS sesame oil
- 2 TBS chili with garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon cornstarch for a stickier glaze
Instructions
- If your pork belly has actual skin on the fattier side, slice that off. You can cut your pork belly into two strips or leave it whole. Your choice. My belly actually was purchased in two strips.
- Combine all cooking liquid ingredients and whisk until combined.
- Slide your meat into a sous-vide bag. Pour in the cooking liquid.
- Use your FM2000 and vacuum seal your bag.
- Prepare your sous-vide water and circulator.
- Heat water to 170F and set the timer for 10 hours.
- Once done, allow it to cool down for an hour and then place it in your refrigerator overnight.
- When ready to enjoy, open the bag discard the marinade and pat your pork belly dry with paper towels.
- Cut your pork belly into chunks…about 1 ½ - 2-inch pieces.
- Make your glaze by combining all ingredients except the cornstarch.
- Heat your glaze in a small pot to a boil. Scoop out a TBS or two into a ramekin and add the cornstarch, mix it well and return it all to the pot, bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
- In a non-stick pan, place just a very small amount of oil (just enough to barely coat the pan. Heat the oil and add half of your chunks fattiest side down first. Allow the fat to cook and crisp up. Then add a small amount of the glaze to the pan. About a TBS or so and allow the fat to caramelize.
- Watch it, because the sugar will allow it to burn if you are not careful. Some blackened bits are delicious, just control it. Working quickly, use tongs and allow each side of the pork belly to caramelize. No side will take as long as the first fatty side.
- Repeat with the second batch (wiping the pan out and starting over is best).
- Once finished. Brush with glaze and serve.
Nutrition
I love pork belly but have never made it- need to try this recipe! I’d also love a food saver- I am queen of the freezer !
The pork belly is a dish I have wanted to try, and the Food Saver is an appliance I know I would get a lot of use out of.
Pork belly is one of my favorite foods! I usually roast them instead.
The pork belly looks amazing! I think the food sealer would be awesome addition to the kitchen.
I have never made this before. It looks amazing and if I was lucky enough to have left overs I would love to have this food saver to put it in.
This sounds like it would be really delicious. The food saver would be awesome to have. it would make meal prep for the work week so much easier.
I have never eaten pork belly. Should try this recipe.
I'm not a fan of pork belly but I would love to have a food saver for my home .
looks tasty
Awesome recipe! I am a big pork belly fan. This looks fabulous. I love that you can stop the vacuum to avoid squishing the food but still seal the bag. The ones that hold rolls of bags and cut them are too big and bulky. Seems like something I could use
The pork belly looks really good, but it's super fatty, so I try to avoid it.
The Food Saver, on the other hand, I really want one! Both for my emergency food stash, and because I do eat left overs a lot, but I'm bad about freezing them, for some reason, so I would not waste as much food.
Thank you for the chance! =)
I would not eat the pork belly not because of the fat but because I don't care for asian spices.. I have a very old food saver and I struggle to keep it working.. this one looks wonderful....
I have never had pork belly but it sounds like it would be tasty
The pork belly looks so good and the food saver is something we need!
Do not think I have ever tried Pork belly, but the seasoning looks good.
The pork belly looks finger licking good!
A food saver would be so handy right now with the garden produce coming in.
It's a great invention!
thank you
I have to admit... I think Pork Belly is totally gross. Way too fatty for me, it's a texture thing!
I've never tried pork belly. The FoodSaver would be amazing to have & you could purchase in bulk to save money.
I've made many things but pork belly isn't one of them. This looks like a good recipe to start with. The FoodSaver FM2000 is something I would love to try!
Pork happens to be my favorite meat. The Pork Belly looks and sounds so good. And I love the Food Saver.
I haven't ever tried pork belly. The FoodSaver would be great, since I have a sousvide pod ($2 at my local thrift shop, and it's a beauty!)
Looks tasty. My wife has been wanting one of these for a while.
i haven't had pork belly before but it sounds amazing
I think the food saver would definitely help us not to waste food.
The pork belly looks amazing and fresh. The sealer looks like a handy thing to have in the kitchen.
I have never had pork belly before and would love to try it someday. It looks so darn good. I have always wanted a vacuum sealer and this one really sounds like it would be the one to get....
The pork belly sounds wonderful, and I have been wanting a food saver to keep my foods fresher.
I sure do love pork belly! Tempted to try cooking Sous Vide!
I have never tried pork belly before and I don't think I want to try it. hahaha! I'm not big on eating pork. I would love to use the Food Saver system though. That would be awesome to use with the other meats that we have!
I love pork belly and your recipe looks absolutely scrumptious! I have been wanting to try the sous vide cooking technique. The FoodSaver® FM2000 would make it so much easier.
Pork Belly is like bacon's rich, sexy, sophisticated cousin: it is soooooo good.
And I couldn't live without my FoodSaver: I care for my elderly father and it makes cooking his preferred meals in bulk and freezing so easy, and saves my sanity not having to cook two different meals every day. (and there are several family members who would happily take my old FoodSaver model if I win a new one!)
I have a really old model food saver and I just love it. I have been looking to update. I have always just used it to package meat after I processed it. So using for cooking is an amazing idea.
The Pork Belly looks delicious -- not something I would typically eat, but it does look good. Amazing how much air the foodsaver removes -- would be nice to have for meats and more.
I have a REALLY old Foodsaver. It takes a little coaxing to get it to work. So I'd love this one! And your sous vide pork belly looks delish! My mouth is watering.
Wow! That looks delicious.
I've never tried pork belly but it looks delicious.
THe pork Belly looks amazing! THe food saver would be a life saver, I'd be able to buy meat and such in bulk and freeze it!
The pork belly looks delicious! I'd love the food saver it'd help a lot n always come in handy!
The pork belly looks delicious and I will give this a try. I would love to have a food saver. It would keep my food fresh.
I love pork belly and this recipe is very similar to one I make.
I have made this pork belly recipe and it is my go to for steam bun pork belly marinade and sous vide!
Fantastic! Thanks for the feedback Jose!
It looks so good and I'm in need of a food saver!
I think the pork belly looks delicious. We process our own meat and the food saver would be great to have.
I love pork belly! So much flavor! And I love to foodsaver because I hate when food goes bad.
Im making it in the oven right now. Love the way you cooked it love to try it looks amazing
Second go around for this recipe...both times turned out awesome! Only extra step I added was to refrigerate with a cast iron pot on top. It compresses the meat slightly so that it is easier turning in the pan when you are browning with the glaze. Brava!!
Thanks for leaving a comment that had something to do with the recipe and not whether or not you had a food saver or liked pork belly. Very useful.
5 out of 5 star commenter! Would read comment again! Lol.
Colleen , how it looks delicious and tasty, looking forward to the weekend to cook pork, thanks!
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!
This looks a lot like Indonesian babi pagang. Roasted, with grilled pineapple & sweet & sour sauce, gives me visions of my former hime
Hi Gus, I was unfamiliar with that dish, just looked it up and it sounds and looks delicious! Now I have to make it!
“Cut your pork belly into chinks”
Might want to slap an edit on that one, Freud
Thanks!
This looks awesome! What kind of chilli with garlic paste did you use? Also, did anyone finish this off on a Grill? How was it?
I gotta say, if you're making Asian pork belly and you're not putting mirin in the cooking liquid, you're just letting the best in life pass you by. Also, don't think the slaw really needs soy sauce in the dressing since the pork belly is already basically cooked in soy sauce. Replace the 2 Tbsp soy sauce with 2 Tbsp mirin and it's heckin' good.
Not that it isn't heckin' good anyway. This seems like a great recipe.
How would this turn out on the smoker following the marinade?
I am not well versed in smoking (yet). That is on my bucket list for 2020. The other pork belly recipe on my website has been done on a smoker by a couple of competitors with success. 2 have even told me they won prizes 🙂 Here it is - https://soufflebombay.com/slow-roasted-pork-belly-bites-over-jalapeno-slaw/
Might want to change Step 9 to "cut into chunks"
Hi -- I have a pork belly in my online shopping cart - so excited to try this! I have a couple of questions. In the Cooking Liquid, it says chili with garlic paste and in the Glaze it says chili with garlic sauce. Are they the same thing? And do you have a brand that you recommend? Also, in the Cooking Liquid, what quantity of it is used - Tbsp or tsp? My husband and I aren't into very spicy foods, so I'd love to know if you recommend the quantity as is or to reduce it. Thanks!
Hi Lynn, I fixed it..."paste" was a typo, its the same chili with garlic sauce for both. YOu can use the full amount in the liquid, however if spicy is not your thing, start with 1 TBS of it for the glaze. I use it in SO many things. Here is a link to it on Amazon so you can see it, you should be able to find it in your ethnic food aisle at the grocery store. https://amzn.to/2GVh9ub
I have made this several times. It’s wonderful! And, let me share my process - Costco has huge portions of pork belly, so I cut the pork belly into a serving size then create packets of the desired servings. For instance, we usually have four for dinner but often also have 6, and this is a fav of all. I also cut one strip into ‘lardons’ to crisp later for use on Asian salad or fried rice (I should make more than one as this it handy to have on hand!).
I find 1.5 of the marinade is sufficient for this amount. Then, all are sealed with the marinade and i sous vide the whole lot. When cooled after the 10 hours, I save one pack to my fridge for dinner, and the rest goes in the freezer! Now I have several meals ready to just thaw then crisp as per the instructions! One day work, and several yums for Asian tacos, pork belly on turnip, pea or or carrot purée, or any way your heart desires!
Sounds amazing Linda! Thanks so much for your input!
What's with all of the generic comments? Very annoying and clearly manipulating the rating.
"Never had pork belly"
"Wow look at that food saver"
Back when I first posted the recipe, I was giving away a FoodSaver, which is why some of the comments said what you referenced.
Really tasty - I served mine in bao buns with shredded carrot, sliced cucumber, Japanese mayo, coriander (cilantro) and sriracha and it was a hit with the family. Careful when it's in the pan though - I'm nursing a few burns on my hand and wrist from the spitting of the oil and glaze. It was worth it though!
Glad you enjoyed Kerryn, sounds delicious! And ouch!!! That's always me with bacon and scrapple in the morning lol!