Ever wonder how do they make Thit Heo Quay (Crispy Roast Pork).....?

I have always loved the crispy cracklings (pork skin) on the roasted pork that you buy at an asian BBQ house. It is always a race to get to it first before everyone else in my family  eats it all because it is the most popular piece...lol I have always wondered how do they get the skin so bubbly  and crispy but not hard or chewy. Was it the special oven that the pig is roasted in?? Was it some special technique that is a big secret??? Well, a girlfriend of mine recently told me about this "secret" that she found on youtube and I was very excited to try it out at home. After learning about this recipe, it looked fairly easy enough and the ingredients were pretty simple that I already had in my pantry. The only thing that was missing was a piece of pork belly/bacon so I went to my local asian grocery store and picked up the leanest slab of pork belly I could find. And this is the result...

First combine the dry rub for the meaty part of the pork belly:

1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar ( I used 1 tsp white granulated sugar and 1 tsp palm sugar)
1 tsp 5 spice powder (ngu vi huong)
1/2 tsp pepper

Then score the slab of belly on the meat side about 2cm deep so the rub can be well absorbed and marinade will penetrate the meat to give it lots of flavor.

Then rub the meaty side with the dry mixture thoroughly and around the edges as well and flip it over in a baking dish. Clean the skin side carefully with a papertowel and prepare the next step.

For the skin, dissolve 2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda in 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar. Brush this mixture liberally all over the skin side of the pork belly. I used a paring knife to puncture small slits in the skin so the vinegar mixture can penetrate better.

Then  marinate for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator, over night is even better so the flavours can develop. I didn't have that much time because I wanted to make it for dinner so I waited for 3 hours....preheat the oven to 400F degrees and place the slab on a baking sheet lined with foil with skin side down and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from oven and flip over so meat side is down and brush more of the vinegar mixture over the skin and bake for another 20 minutes. Take it out and brush on the remainder of the vinegar slurry and turn on the broiler. Place the bacon back under the broiler and keep a close watch....the skin will start to bubble and crisp up...but be careful not to burn the crackling.

. Once it is all evenly toasted and crisp, remove from oven and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. When you are ready to serve, just flip it over and use the scored edges to help slice the roast pork into bite pieces. And there you have it, yummy delicious crunchy homemade roast pork.

You can serve it with rice, noodles, or just plain by itself as an appetizer.

Who knew it was so simple??? I'll definitely be making more of this dish again soon.