The Roast Pig as Served at Sun Wah BBQ in Chicago, Illinois, as seen on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 29.
Recipe courtesy of Sun Wah BBQ

Roast Pork

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  • Level: Intermediate
  • Total: 3 hr 45 min (includes cooling time)
  • Active: 50 min
  • Yield: 4 to 6 people

Ingredients

Glaze:

Marinade:

Pork Belly:

Directions

  1. For the glaze: Stir the red vinegar with the cooking wine and maltose in a double boiler until all of the maltose has melted.
  2. For the marinade: Mix together the BBQ pork sauce and garlic in a small bowl. Set aside to rest, approximately 10 minutes. Add the Chinese cooking wine and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
  3. Mix together the salt, MSG, sugar and Chinese five-spice powder thoroughly in a separate small bowl. Set aside.
  4. For the pork belly: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  5. Trim and clean pork belly slab. Cut into the back of the pork belly between each rib, about halfway down the thickness of the slab.
  6. Mix the salt, baking soda and 2 teaspoons water together in a small bowl. Rub the mixture onto the skin of the pork and let rest for 15 minutes.
  7. Put the slab of pork in the boiling water, skin-side down first. Let cook, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pork from water and rest on a roasting rack, skin-side up. Pierce the entire surface of the skin with a needle. Brush on the glaze, covering the entire surface of the skin. Let the slab of pork dry on the rack until the surface of the skin is dried, 20 to 30 minutes.
  8. Turn the slab over and sprinkle the five-spice mixture thoroughly over the meat, rubbing into the cut spaces between the ribs.
  9. Brush the BBQ pork sauce mixture on the meat thoroughly, covering the entire surface, including the cut spaces between the ribs.
  10. Roast the pork, approximately 10 minutes.
  11. Allow to cool for 20 to 30 minutes and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
  12. Return the pork to the oven to roast, 15 to 20 minutes.
  13. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F and continue to roast the pork, for 5 to 7 minutes.
  14. Decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees F and continue cooking the pork until tender, 45 to 60 minutes.
  15. Let the pork cool for approximately 5 minutes. Move to a cutting board and chop into bite-size pieces. Plate and serve.