Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly
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Air-fryer pork belly is the fastest reliable route to Chinese crispy roast pork (siu yuk) at home: seasoned pork belly with juicy, five-spice-scented meat under a layer of shatteringly crisp, blistered crackling. The air fryer's circulating heat does what a restaurant oven does — renders the fat and puffs the skin — in about 50 minutes with no hanging, basting, or deep-frying. Success comes down to three things: poke the skin all over (dozens of tiny holes let steam escape so it blisters instead of staying leathery), season only the meat side (salt on the skin is fine, marinade is not — moisture is the enemy of crackling), and dry the skin thoroughly, ideally uncovered in the fridge overnight. Then air-fry low first to cook the meat, and hot at the end to puff the skin. Serve it cubed with hoisin or a sugar-mustard dip over rice.
Why you'll love this air fryer crispy pork belly
- Real siu-yuk crackling — blistered, puffed, and shatteringly crisp — without an oven or deep fryer.
- The poke-and-dry method makes the crispy skin nearly foolproof.
- Juicy, five-spice-scented meat under the crunch.
- Mostly hands-off: 15 minutes of prep, then the air fryer does the work.
Ingredients
Pork & seasoning
- 1.5 lb pork belly, one thick slab, skin on
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing winesubstitutes →
- 2 tsp five-spice powdersubstitutes →
- 1 tsp white peppersubstitutes →
- 1.5 tsp fine salt, for the meat
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp coarse salt, for the skin
- 1 tsp white vinegar, brushed on the skin
For serving
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce, or hot mustard + sugarsubstitutes →
- 2 cups steamed rice
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Stock the pantry once and you can cook this anytime: Shaoxing wine, five-spice powder, white pepper, hoisin sauce. Asian groceries deliver nationwide.
Equipment
- Air fryer — Basket or oven style both work; you need room for a flat slab.(shop →)
- Metal skewer or sharp fork — For poking the skin — the step that guarantees crackling.(shop →)
Instructions
Season the meat side
Pat the pork belly dry. Flip it skin-side down and score the meat side in a shallow crosshatch. Rub the meat side (not the skin) with the Shaoxing wine, then the five-spice, white pepper, fine salt, and sugar, working it into the cuts.
💡 Keep every drop of marinade off the skin — moisture and oil on the skin mean leathery, not crispy.
Poke & salt the skin
Flip skin-side up and poke the skin all over with a skewer or sharp fork — at least 50–100 shallow holes, through the skin but not deep into the fat. Brush the skin with the vinegar and sprinkle with the coarse salt.
💡 The holes vent steam so the skin puffs and blisters. You genuinely cannot poke too many.
Dry the skin
Set the pork skin-side up on a plate and refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, to dry the skin completely. In a rush, pat dry and aim a fan at it for an hour — but overnight is what makes it foolproof.
Low stage: cook the meat
Air-fry at 250°F (120°C) for 30 minutes, skin-side up, to cook the meat through and render the fat.
Hot stage: puff the crackling
Brush off excess salt, then turn the air fryer up to 400°F (200°C) and cook another 15–20 minutes, watching from 12 minutes, until the skin is puffed, blistered, and deep golden all over.
💡 If one corner blisters faster, tent just that corner with a small piece of foil and keep going.
Rest & cube
Rest 10 minutes, then cut into bite-size cubes with a serrated knife, skin-side down on the board. Serve over rice with hoisin or a hot-mustard dip.
Tips & notes
- Choose a belly slab of even thickness so it cooks level; ask the butcher for a center cut, skin on.
- The three commandments of crackling: poke a lot, keep the skin dry, finish hot. Miss one and the skin turns leathery.
- Resting before cubing keeps the juices in the meat — cutting hot squeezes them out onto the board.
- Leftovers: re-crisp cubes in the air fryer at 380°F for 3–4 minutes; the skin comes back to life. Don't microwave — it turns the crackling soft.
- The classic Cantonese pairing is plain rice and blanched greens like garlic bok choy — the freshness cuts the richness.
Recipe wording too vague?
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Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 1 hr 5 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Intermediate
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb pork belly, one thick slab, skin on
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp five-spice powder
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1.5 tsp fine salt, for the meat
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp coarse salt, for the skin
- 1 tsp white vinegar, brushed on the skin
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce, or hot mustard + sugar
- 2 cups steamed rice
Instructions
- Pat the pork belly dry. Flip it skin-side down and score the meat side in a shallow crosshatch. Rub the meat side (not the skin) with the Shaoxing wine, then the five-spice, white pepper, fine salt, and sugar, working it into the cuts.
- Flip skin-side up and poke the skin all over with a skewer or sharp fork — at least 50–100 shallow holes, through the skin but not deep into the fat. Brush the skin with the vinegar and sprinkle with the coarse salt.
- Set the pork skin-side up on a plate and refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, to dry the skin completely. In a rush, pat dry and aim a fan at it for an hour — but overnight is what makes it foolproof.
- Air-fry at 250°F (120°C) for 30 minutes, skin-side up, to cook the meat through and render the fat.
- Brush off excess salt, then turn the air fryer up to 400°F (200°C) and cook another 15–20 minutes, watching from 12 minutes, until the skin is puffed, blistered, and deep golden all over.
- Rest 10 minutes, then cut into bite-size cubes with a serrated knife, skin-side down on the board. Serve over rice with hoisin or a hot-mustard dip.
Nutrition (est., per serving): 620 cal · 25 g protein · 9 g carbs · 53 g fat
Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly FAQ
Why isn't my pork belly skin crispy in the air fryer?
Almost always one of three misses: the skin wasn't poked enough (steam stays trapped and the skin turns leathery), the skin wasn't dry (marinade, oil, or fridge moisture on the skin prevents blistering), or the final stage wasn't hot enough. Poke 50–100 holes, dry uncovered overnight, and finish at 400°F until visibly puffed.
What's the difference between siu yuk and char siu?
Both are Cantonese roast pork but they're opposite dishes. Siu yuk (this recipe) is salt-and-five-spice pork belly prized for its crispy crackling skin. Char siu is boneless pork marinated in a sweet red glaze — sticky and caramelized, no crackling. At a Cantonese BBQ shop they hang side by side; siu yuk is the crispy one.
Do I need to boil the pork belly first?
No. Some stovetop methods par-boil the belly to tighten the skin before roasting, but the air fryer's two-stage method — low to cook the meat, hot to puff the skin — makes it unnecessary. Poking and overnight drying do the work that boiling would, with better flavor in the meat.
What temperature do you air fry pork belly?
Two stages: 250°F (120°C) for 30 minutes to gently cook the meat and render fat, then 400°F (200°C) for 15–20 minutes to blister the skin into crackling. One single high-heat blast tends to overcook the meat before the skin fully puffs, so don't skip the low stage.
How do I store and reheat crispy pork belly?
Refrigerate cubes in an airtight container up to 3 days. Reheat in the air fryer at 380°F for 3–4 minutes and the crackling re-crisps remarkably well — it's one of the best-reheating crispy dishes there is. Avoid the microwave, which steams the skin soft.
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