Recipes

Crispy Deep-fried Pork Belly

Moo Grob / Moo Krob

Pork belly par-boiled and double-fried until the skin turns shatteringly crisp

Crispy Deep-fried Pork Belly
Prep
5 min
Cook
40 min
Serves
4
Heat
mild

Getting pork belly properly crisp takes a two-stage frying process: first a gentler fry at moderate heat to cook the meat through, which leaves the skin still a little rubbery and greasy, followed by a second fry in oil so hot it's nearly smoking, which is what finally makes the skin puff up and crackle like proper pork rinds. A quick par-boil in salted, vinegared water before any frying begins is what seals the meat and keeps it from turning soft once it hits the oil. Done right, a good slice shows three distinct layers — soft, moist meat, then fat, then a shatteringly crisp skin — and keeps well in the fridge for a week, ready to drop into any of the stir-fries built around it.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Slice the pork belly into pieces about 1 1/2 inches thick, cutting the length so pieces are manageable for your pan, roughly 6 inches long.
  2. Boil enough water to cover the pork, adding 1 tablespoon each of salt and vinegar per quart of water.
  3. Par-boil the pork pieces for 5 to 10 minutes, checking often so they don't overcook — the goal is just to seal the outside while the meat stays firm. Overcooking here leaves the finished Moo Grob soft rather than crisp.
  4. The pork is ready when it's still very firm with just a little fat rendered away. Let the pieces dry very well before frying.
  5. Heat the oil in a deep pan large enough to fully submerge the pork pieces. Keep the heat at medium, watching closely so it doesn't overheat.
  6. Fry the pork for about 10 minutes, keeping the pan covered and opening carefully since the meat can pop and spatter as it cooks.
  7. Once the frying sound slows and the meat turns golden brown, remove it — it will look a little rubbery and greasy at this stage, which is expected.
  8. Turn the heat all the way up and let the oil get very hot, until it's just starting to smoke.
  9. Carefully return the pork to the very hot oil. It should puff up immediately, with the skin crackling like fried pork rinds. Fry for about a minute, then remove to a cooling rack.
  10. Once cooled, the pork should be dry, not oily, with a rough, hard, bubbly skin. Cut into thin slices once it reaches room temperature.
  11. The finished Moo Grob should be soft and moist inside, hard and crispy on the skin, with browned, crunchy sides, and at least three distinct layers of meat and fat visible in each slice.
  12. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week, cutting off pieces as needed so the rest stays moist inside. Use in stir-fries like Pad Kaphrao, Pad Kana, or Pad Prik Pao wherever sliced pork or chicken would normally go.

Notes

Fry the pork twice — once at moderate heat to cook it through, then again in oil so hot it's nearly smoking — rather than trying to get it crisp in a single fry. That second blast of very high heat is what makes the skin puff and crackle properly.

Substitutions

Choose a piece of pork belly with several visible layers of lean meat and only a little fat just under the skin — a very fatty cut turns out greasy rather than properly crisp.