There were some good looking recipes on that Chef Steps website.
Sous vide seems like a logical way to cook pork belly to tenderness. But I was wondering the same thing as ipse about the crispy outside.
You could take a creme brulee torch to the skin, but I just wonder how well that would work after the skin has essentially been steam boiled for hours.
I was thinking about ‘reverse sear’ in a CI skillet over screaming hot heat.
I was thinking the same thing. After all that moisture could you even get the skin crisp?
I’m just thinking about when we make Chinese pig’s feet. We essentially braise it for 2-3 hours. And if I were to take the skin on braised trotter and then either reverse sear it or torch it, I think it would definitely dry out but be almost chewy like a eating a big mouthful of Chinese cuttlefish.
Dunno, be interesting to find out.
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Boy, I’m learning a lot about Asian, in particular Chinese products. It’s going to make shopping at Galleria much more interesting.
You can sear it or even better deep fry it very briefly to get very crispy skin. You can also separately sous vide meat and skin (and deep fry the skin afterwards)
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If you fried it, would you hold it with tongs and just put the skin side down in the fat? That sounds interesting.
I would recommend to press the pork belly after cooking sous vide for a day in the fridge to make it as flat as possible. Depending on the size of the piece you have to cut it in smaller pieces. You get best results (less sticking to the pan) if you use larger amounts of oil (1/2 inch) when frying.
That sounds more like undercooked. If you’re not going to eat it tender, you want to cook it until it’s crunchy enough to crack.
I wish I’d taken a picture. Next time.
This video by MPW looks good although I like the Idea of scoring the skin and rubbing with baking soda/salt. Sometimes it helps to see a visual.
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I want that .
Ducks can be air-dried, but the health codes limit this to four hours, which isn’t nearly long enough, IMHO.
Braise in soy sauce, shaoxing wine, garlic, ginger, rock sugar, and a little water. Throw in some carrots and onions.
Optional ingredients: A little coke, cherry coke, or Dr Pepper would work too. One or two red chiles. One or two dried orange peel.
Dont know exact measurements, it’s Grandma food. Serve over rice with some Chinese greens.
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Really need to get that. I’ve been using cooking sherry in it’s place. Oh yeah… and your dish Is making me hungry.
I need to find the non-cooking shaoxing (?sp) wine. Maybe next trip to Seattle.
You live in Reno? 168 Asian Market should have good Shaoxing.
I need to look more carefully or ask. I’ve only seen the cooking type. I don’t remember seeing any alcoholic beverages there so perhaps that’s the issue. If there is one. It’s a great shop.
A hiatus during which time I’ve done practically nothing with pork belly. But tomorrow is a big night 
When in Seattle three times in one restaurant we’ve had their Wagyu beef burger, pork belly, grilled onions and blue cheese on a brioche bun. I have all the ingredients assembled (very fatty Kobe beef) but still unsure about what to do with the belly. Are there any of the above that you’d recommend? I so want this to be drool-worthy TIA.