Pork · Air fryer

Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly (Auntie Liz Siu Yuk)

Auntie Liz's air fryer crispy pork belly, the Chinese-style siu yuk done at home: pierced skin, foil boat for the meat, salt crust for moisture-draw, then bake 20 min and grill 10 for the loudest crackling you'll get out of a 1.8L air fryer.

R By Richard · Adapted from Auntie Liz · Published 10 June 2026
❤️ 16.9k source likes
⏱Prep 25 min
🌡Temp 210°C
⏲Air fry 30 min
🍽Serves 4
Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly (Auntie Liz)

Source video by Auntie Liz on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

From Auntie Liz. A boneless pork belly is hair-singed with a blowtorch, skin pierced all over with a meat tenderiser (or any sharp pointed tool), then scored on the meat side and seasoned with a mix of Chinese five-spice, sugar and salt. The seasoned meat is wrapped in a foil 'boat' that exposes only the skin, then fridged uncovered overnight to dry. Just before cooking, the skin is brushed with white vinegar and packed with a thick layer of salt. Bake at 210°C for 20 minutes; remove the salt crust, brush with vinegar to clean the skin, then grill at the highest air-fryer setting for 10-15 minutes until the crackling is glassy. Served with a Korean-style spring onion salad (pajeori).

Ingredients

Pork
  • boneless pork belly, trimmed to fit the air fryer, hair singed off, skin pierced all over, meat side scored (not all the way through)
Meat rub
  • Chinese five-spice
  • caster sugar
  • salt
Skin
  • white vinegar
  • salt (for crust)

Method

  1. Singe off any hairs on the pork belly skin with a blowtorch (keep moving so the skin doesn't burn). Scrape clean.

    ~3 min

  2. Pierce the skin all over with a meat tenderiser. The more holes, the better the crackling.

    ~5 min

  3. Flip the belly. Score the meat side (not all the way through to the skin). Trim any excess fat. Rub all over with the five-spice, sugar and salt mix.

    ~3 min

  4. Wrap the belly in a piece of foil so only the skin is exposed (a 'foil boat' with the edges folded up around the meat). Place skin-side up in the fridge uncovered for at least one night, two is better.

    ~2 min

  5. Just before cooking, brush the skin with white vinegar. Pile a thick even layer of salt on top of the skin to draw out the last of the moisture.

    ~2 min

  6. Air fry on bake at 210°C for 20 minutes.

    ~20 min

  7. Lift out. Lift off the salt crust (it should come off in a single sheet, but brush off any residue). Brush the skin with more vinegar to clean off any remaining salt.

    ~2 min

  8. Switch the air fryer to grill on the highest setting. Cook for 10-15 minutes, watching the skin: it'll bubble and crack into glass-like crackling.

    ~15 min

  9. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice into bite-size cubes through the crackling.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

What's the 'mistake' the title warns about?
Not piercing the skin thoroughly. The crackling only happens because thousands of tiny holes let the moisture out and let the heat in. Liz uses a multi-pin meat tenderiser; if you don't have one, a sharp metal skewer all over works.
Do I really need to fridge it overnight?
Yes. Even after the salt crust draws out moisture during cooking, the skin still needs to be as dry as possible before it goes in. Overnight uncovered in the fridge is the difference between chewy skin and crackling. Two nights is better.
Why the foil boat under the meat?
It protects the meat from drying out and stops the salt crust seasoning the meat through to the bone. Without it, the underside is dry and the lean meat is over-salty.
Extraction notes (transparency): Pork belly weight not stated on camera. Five-spice, sugar and salt quantities for the meat rub not stated; recorded as null with phrasing in notes. Salt for the crust quantity not stated ('a nice thick layer'). Spring onion salad sub-recipe is a side; not extracted in full.