When I was doing my shopping at the Chinese supermarket, the butchery section had a huge stack of piggy trotters and I was tempted. Luckily I stopped myself from buying more than 1 packet. It has 3 trotters inside. We Chinese do not like the number 4 you know.

I was thinking hard of what to cook with them because I don’t fancy cooking Sweet Sour Vinegar. However I wanted to cook something hubby will eat, if not the trotters then at least the sauce. I decided to cook the trotters braised with fermented red beancurd instead. Hubby loves fermented red beancurd sauce. So he will be happy with an omelette dosed with sauce.

But……….. but I would be in heaven ‘cleaning’ all the collagen off the sexy bones. Also because I wanted to blog this recipe because I get older and more forgetful. I have to admit I was a bit tired after being on my feet for a good 3 hours cleaning and cooking this dish but I ate it for 2 days in total enjoyment and with every mouthful I felt my wrinkles disappearing. – kekekekekeke

However I do wonder if I dare to order or eat trotters not clean by myself after this!

Note – No soy sauce, oyster sauce etc were used. I wanted the ‘clean’ taste of fermented red beancurd. Please season to your own taste.

Over the last year, after much ‘encouragements’ from friends I researched and finally bought 2 Air-Fryers; fundamentally one for my son who has moved away and one for me to learn so I can teach him easy recipes to feed himself. However I have since fallen in love with it!

I use it as a glorified oven really. After a year of experimenting and such, there are some food I will never use it for, especially those that only taste good with frying. Air-frying might be ‘healthier’ but for food that needs frying in oil, it is not nicer in taste. However I would never use my big oven for certain food now, like Cantonese Crispy Roast pork – Siu Yuk, 脆皮烧肉 which I think I have perfected in my air-fryer to my satisfaction. For full recipe please refer to this link – https://www.julieolive.co.uk/2019/09/06/traditional-cantonese-crispy-roast-pork-belly-siu-yuk-%e8%84%86%e7%9a%ae%e7%83%a7%e8%82%89/

My recipe uses red nam yue, fermented bean curd. To me this is a MUST. If you do not please do NOT refer to yours as ‘authentic’ or ‘traditional’ It kinda pisses me off. This is the way traditional Cantonese roast pork Siu Yuk, 脆皮烧肉 used to taste like when I was young. After roasting the pork itself will have a shade of light pink hue due to the nam yue and it taste so much better for it. Below are pics and TIPs of roasting it in an air-fryer. Enjoy and please feel free to ask me any questions pertaining to this cook.

This recipe have been on the pipeline for yonks. It was in my old blog which I have lost and I meant to put into this new blog but the opportunity did not present itself until today. I have developed this over 22 years to suit my taste. Please use this recipe as a guide and adjust to suits your taste.

I have marinated my char siu for 2 days, praying for a not too hot and not too chilly weather to set up the BBQ. I wanted to BBQ it. To me one can cook char siu (Chinese BBQ pork) absorption way, or in oven just do not give that BBQ flavour that can only be obtained if you do it over a charcoal fire.

I have made extra sauce today because I have more plans for my char siu – kekekekekekeke However I like to plan my daily cook/bakes etc as I am too old and tired to do everything in one day. besides which I am only 70% recovered from my left side frozen neck, shoulder and elbow.

In my char siu I used fermented red beancurd for the ‘saltiness’ and the red colouring. If you can get maltose that will also help in giving your char siu that extra shining glaze. Failing that after you make your sauce if you want it shining add sesame oil a touch.

TIP – Western sauces use butter eastern sauces use oil for the shine. Though I would not mind adding butter to char siu sauce for myself as I love love love butter.

Note : if you do not want to use red fermented beancurd you can use 2 tbsp oyster sauce instead for the ‘saltiness’. I like to use red fermented beancurd for the colouring.

A good dish we all enjoy but I do not often make. This is because i only like this dish made with Cantonese Crispy Roast Pork Belly. The skin just have that taste non other cooking style of pork can replace!

Coating the yam and frying don’t take that long and neither is it difficult to cook the sauce. Longest time spent was mincing the garlic and shallots. I prefer a lot of garlic.

After you got everything ready it is just a matter of arranging onto your dish, here I am using mason pie dishes as I normally cook a few and vacuum seal them to freeze and gift to friends.

The husband love it a lot and always ask if I am giving any and how many away. kekekekekeke I think I have to make this more often. He will pick the thin pork to eat and leave the skin to daughter’s delight. However she has to fight with him for the yam.

Please adjust the seasoning to suits your taste. I love rose wine but some people might not or finds it hard to get. I don’t add salt as the nam yue I buy is salty enough to warrant me adding some sugar even. Adjust and make it to your liking. It’s not that hard to cook as long as you get your roast pork all ready. Have fun!

Traditional Cantonese Crispy Roast pork belly – Siu Yuk, 脆皮烧肉, is my daughter favourite of all Chinese roast dishes. She can never have enough of Cantonese Crispy Roast Pork Belly aka Siu Yuk and will eat it everyday if she could.

However normally after marinating and roasting it all day, after the cleaning up I find I am only able to manage a few pieces.

Actually Cantonese Crispy Roast Pork Belly is not hard to make. It just takes a bit of time love and attention. I have actually done a few steps by steps posts in the past but I have since lost my old blog so here’s a new updated one.

I do not often order this dish in restaurants outside as I find them only having one taste – salty! That is NOT how a traditional Cantonese Crispy Roast Pork belly should taste like! Well not to me anyway The layer on salt on top type and wrapping with tin foil is NOT a traditional Cantonese Crispy Roast pork belly to me too. I cannot think what to do with the salt after nor wonder how the bottom can get nicely roasted if on tin foil.

While the pork belly is going through it stages be it salting or marinating you can go gardening, shopping, clean out your fridge freezer for examples. kekekekekeke or just have coffee and Facebook catch up.

TIP – The hot water on the skin not only tightens it but helps in giving you a crispy skin.

TIP – The salting of the pork draws out the water in the skin and makes it more crispy.

TIP : Only poke the skin, skin deep NOT onto the fat layer. The more holes the nicer the skin.

TIP : When roasting place the tray into your oven first then fill the bottom tray with a kettle of boiled water. This help to catch the oil dripping down and keep the pork belly very juicy.

IMPORTANT – You might need to add more water to your tray halfway!

Update: 7th April 2021- Recently due to Covid19 lockdown I have been purchasing pork belly from Costco. I prefer to go around dinner time, less people then. The pork slabs weigh just about/under 2kg a piece. My daughter have been learning to make traditional Cantonese roast pork and these pieces took about an hour to roast in a fan oven with top heat at 200C

Try to chose the pork with a firm skin and not floppy skin with creases. Firm skin makes the best crispy top.

1. We have been making it in the afternoon, then after marinating the bottom, with the skin still dry on a piece of cloth, leave it to marinate overnight
2. Wrap with cling film (because I do not like my fridge to smell of 5 spices) and put it in the fridge overnight.
3. The next day flip it over, remove the cloth and let the skin dry for a day. Would be better if you can out it in the sun.
4. Roast it in the late afternoon and eat the next day. The skin will still be very crunchy if you do not seal it. Just cover with a net cover and leave it in a cool place. In my case it is my kitchen as I do not have heating on there.

My daughter has just about managed to make this on her own. I will buy a few more pieces of pork for her to try a few more times. I get to ‘goyang kaki’ too – kekekekeke