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Char Siu Belly with Rice and Broccolini plated and ready to serve

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Char Siu Belly with Rice and Broccolini

Rich pork belly with a glossy char siu glaze, plain rice, and tender broccolini.

Char Siu Belly with Rice and Broccolini

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Last updated

How we review our contentSources for this method
Prep
15 min
Bath
16 hours
Total
16 hr 35 min
Yield
2 servings
Main Courseporkchar-siurice

Ingredients

  • 1 lb fresh, uncured, boneless, skinless pork belly
  • 1 cup char siu sauce, divided
  • 1 bunch broccolini, trimmed
  • 1 tsp neutral oil
  • Salt
  • 2 cups cooked jasmine rice, freshly prepared for serving
  • 1 scallion, thinly sliced

Method

Prepare

  1. Cut the belly into two long pieces as described below, keeping both large enough for their center checks. Use fully thawed, refrigerator-cold pork.
  2. Divide the pork between two bags with a total of half the sauce. Reserve the other half in a clean covered container in the refrigerator for glazing; keep it away from raw-pork utensils.

Cook

  1. Set the water bath to 158°F.
  2. For Pork Belly, use 1 pound of fresh, uncured, boneless, skinless pork belly, cut into two long pieces. Each piece must be thick enough for a reliable center reading. The source gives no numerical thickness limit; bacon, rolled belly, and thin slices are excluded. Use fully thawed, refrigerator-cold pork. Divide the belly between two bags with a total of 1/2 cup char siu sauce; reserve a separate clean portion of sauce for glazing. Keep the pieces flat without overlap. Fully submerge each sealed pouch in a verified, preheated circulating bath, leaving water space around every bag. Start timing at immersion and complete the full listed time without interruption. Cover the bath and monitor its water level throughout the long cook. The listed time covers the bath stage. The thermometer check, any additional cooking needed to pass it, and the finish are separate. Check the thickest center of every piece, avoiding bone, fat, and gristle; check several places in large or uneven pieces. Every measured spot must reach 145°F before finishing. Cook any cooler piece further in a skillet or oven and recheck it. Bath time, color, texture, and browning do not replace this check. Use clean utensils, discard all pouch liquid, and keep cooked food away from raw-food juices, used bags, and utensils that touched raw meat. Dry the intact belly and brush with clean char siu sauce. Broil for about 5 minutes, brush again, and continue until the glaze browns, watching closely. Rest at least 5 minutes after the final heat before slicing or serving immediately. These methods cover immediate service only. Frozen starts, chilling, storage, reheating, and holding need separate methods. Shoulder, loin, tenderloin, skin-on, cured, stuffed, injected, or unmeasurable pork needs another method. Keep used raw-pork sauce away from the cooked meat.
  3. Cook for 16 hours if you are cooking 1 pound of fresh, uncured, boneless, skinless belly in two intact long pieces with 1/2 cup char siu sauce, fully thawed and refrigerator-cold, with both centers measurable.
  4. Near serving time, prepare the rice and cook the broccolini in boiling water until tender. Drain and toss with the oil and salt.

Check before finishing

  1. At the end of the bath, open the pouch and transfer each piece intact to a clean surface with clean utensils. Discard the pouch liquid and any sauce that touched raw food.
  2. Use a clean food thermometer. Check the thickest center of every piece, avoiding bone, fat, and gristle; check several places in large or uneven pieces.
  3. Every spot you check must reach 145°F. If any reading is lower, keep cooking with a method hot enough to reach this temperature and check each cooler spot again. Complete this check before finishing.

Finish

  1. After the temperature check, discard the pouch liquid and pat the intact belly dry.
  2. Place on a broiler-safe tray and brush with clean reserved sauce. Follow the guide’s glazing finish, watching closely and applying another thin layer as the first browns. Keep the pieces intact for the rest below.

Rest

  1. After the final heat, rest every piece for at least 5 minutes before cutting, pulling, or serving.

Serve

  1. After the rest, slice the belly across the grain with a clean knife.
  2. Arrange over the freshly prepared rice with broccolini and scallion. Serve immediately.

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