Side Dishes

Crispy Five Spice Pork Belly

Pork, Pork belly, skin on	1 lb
Maggi Seasoning, 2 tbsp.	1 fl.oz
Garlic, minced, 1 tbsp.	0.5 oz
Five-spice powder, Chinese, 1 tsp.	0.5 oz
Black pepper, ground, 1 tsp.	0.5 oz
Vegetable oil, 1/2 tbsp.	0.25 fl.oz
Table salt, finely ground, 1/3 cup	3.5 oz

Place pork on rack so there is air flow on all sides and air-dry in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
Place on the rack in the top 1/3 of the oven. Arrange a pan on the bottom 1/3 of oven with 1 inch of water. Pre-heat to 350°F degrees.
Whisk together the Maggi Seasoning, garlic, five spice, pepper and vegetable oil. Rub ONLY on the bottom of the pork belly. Try not to get on the pork skin as it will cause it to burn and prevent the skin from developing the proper texture.
Carefully spread all of the salt on top of the pork bellies in a thick layer. Carefully arrange the water in pan in oven and add if needed. Place pork in oven and cook for 2 hours.
Remove pork from oven and pull off salt crust. (This can be saved and ground for pork seasoned salt later.)
Increase oven to 465°F. Place pork back in oven, and bake until skin bubbles up and develops a deep golden brown. Pork will begin to bubble up in around 30 minutes. Rotate the pork in oven as needed to promote even cooking for 15-30 minutes or until top is evenly cooked. Remove from oven and rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting.