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Pasta Chicken

Pork Belly with Honey Garlic Sauce

Published: Nov 12, 2018 | 36 Comments

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Pan-fried Pork Belly Slices with Honey Garlic Sauce – easy appetizer that takes only 30 minutes from start to finish!   This recipe explains how to cook sliced pork belly in a frying pan until crispy and browned.  No need to turn on the oven.

crispy pork belly with honey garlic sesame seed sauce

Many pork belly recipes require slow cooking or oven roasting the unsliced pork belly for a long time (usually at least an hour).   This quick and easy recipe takes only 30 minutes, and that includes the time required to make the sauce!

In this recipe the uncooked pork belly is sliced into thick bites first, and then pan-fried in a frying pan on stove top until the texture is crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside.    Pork belly pairs exceptionally well with Asian flavors, which is why the sauce in this recipe features ingredients that are commonly used in Asian cuisine: honey, tamari sauce (or use soy sauce), garlic, and toasted sesame seeds.

Pork belly is a very fatty cut of pork, so don’t be surprised at the calorie count below in the recipe box.  Make sure to plan a good size side dish, since this recipe doesn’t make much volume-wise, but it’s surely a lot calorie-wise.

What to serve with pork belly

Because pork belly is so rich and fatty, serve it with green vegetables, such as oven-baked asparagus, roasted broccoli, roasted brussels sprouts, or sautéed spinach.   Also, mushrooms are good choice, such as oyster mushrooms or regular button mushrooms.

Or, serve Asian-flavored noodles alongside the pork belly. Here are some suggestions:

  • Spicy Asian Noodles with Mushrooms and Snow Peas
  • Asian Pasta with Broccoli and Mushrooms
  • Thai Zucchini Noodles

Pork Belly vs Bacon

Both bacon and pork belly come from the same cut of pork (pork belly).  The only difference between the two is that pork belly is fresh meat, while bacon has been sliced, cured, and smoked.

Pork belly looks very much like a very thick slice of bacon, uncut:

pork belly

Cook’s Tips

  1. Slice pork belly into cube-like pieces of medium size.  These pork slices don’t have to be perfectly shaped as cubes.  They also don’t have to be small – keep in mind that cubed pork belly will reduce in size considerably, once it’s cooked.
  2. Do not add cooking oil when cooking pork belly in the skillet – pork belly is obviously a very fatty cut and it will release its own fat.
  3. When pan-frying sliced pork belly, use splatter screen to prevent oil from splattering all over the kitchen.
  4. Start cooking sliced pork belly on high heat but watch closely: reduce heat to medium once the skillet gets too hot.

Crispy Pork Belly with Honey Garlic Sesame Seed Sauce

how to cook pork belly

1) Slice pork belly into small cube-like bites.

2) Add cubed pork belly to a large skillet and start frying on high heat. Do not add cooking oil.

3) Constantly move pork belly slices around the pan.

sliced pork belly4)  Pan fry sliced pork belly 5 minutes on one side, 5 minutes on the other side until nicely browned and crispy. Total cooking time should be about 10 minutes.

5) Reduce heat from high to medium as the pan gets hot.

6) There shouldn’t be any burnt pieces or burnt pan on the bottom of the skillet.

7) Don’t crowd the pan. Cook pork belly in 2 batches, if necessary.

crispy pan-fried pork belly

8) Remove pan-fried pork belly slices from the cooking pan.

9) Remove extra fat from the pan.

10) Make the sauce by combining 1/4 cup honey with 3 tablespoons of tamari sauce, and minced garlic.

11) Heat it up the sauce and cook for about 1 minute.

12) Add back pan-fried pork belly slices. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

crispy sliced pork belly

Crispy Pork Belly with Honey Garlic Sesame Seed Sauce

Side dishes for pork belly

Serve pork belly with green vegetables or side dishes with creamy texture:

  • Mashed potatoes.
  • Cauliflower “mashed potatoes” – made from cauliflower, without using actual potatoes.
  • Scalloped potatoes.
  • Grilled asparagus.
  • Sautéed spinach.
  • Roasted broccoli.
  • Oven-roasted brussels sprouts.
5 from 23 votes
sliced pork belly with honey garlic sauce
Print
Sliced Pork Belly with Honey Garlic Sauce
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

Easy Pan-fried Pork Belly with Honey Garlic Sauce - only 30 minutes from start to finish!  You'll love crispy pork belly with the Asian-inspired sauce!  The recipe explains how to cook pork belly slices in a frying pan on stove top, without using the oven!  

Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American, Asian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 689 kcal
Author: Julia
Ingredients
  • 1 lb pork belly
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 3 tablespoons tamari sauce or soy sauce
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds , toasted
  • 2 green onions , chopped
  • salt , to taste
Instructions
How to cook sliced pork belly
  1. Slice pork belly into small cube-like pieces. Slice off extra fat, if you wish.
  2. Add sliced pork belly to a large pan and start frying on high heat. Do not add cooking oil.  

  3. Constantly move pork belly slices in the beginning.  Cook them for about 5 minutes on one side on high heat, then 5 minutes on the other side on high-medium heat.   Use splatter screen.  The total cooking time should be about 10 minutes.   Reduce heat to medium, if the pan gets too hot. The sliced pork belly should get crispy and browned. 

  4. As you're cooking you might have to reduce heat from high to medium as the pan gets hot. There shouldn't be any burnt pieces and the pan should not get burned on the bottom (I used stainless steel pan). Don't crowd the pan. Depending on the size of your frying pan, you might have to do this in 2 batches.

  5. Remove pan-fried pork belly slices to a plate.  Remove extra fat from the frying pan. 

Honey Garlic Sauce
  1. Add 1/4 cup honey and 3 tablespoons tamari sauce, and minced garlic. 

  2. Heat up the sauce until it boils, reduce heat, and cook for about 1 minute stirring. Remove from heat. 

  3. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and stir it in.  Add back the sliced pork belly.  

  4. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds on top.  Top with chopped green onion, and serve.

Nutrition Facts
Sliced Pork Belly with Honey Garlic Sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 689 Calories from Fat 558
% Daily Value*
Fat 62g95%
Saturated Fat 22g138%
Cholesterol 81mg27%
Sodium 793mg34%
Potassium 296mg8%
Carbohydrates 20g7%
Sugar 17g19%
Protein 13g26%
Vitamin A 60IU1%
Vitamin C 2.4mg3%
Calcium 57mg6%
Iron 1.7mg9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Filed Under: Dinner, Honey, Pork, Recipe Published: Nov 12, 2018 36 Comments

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Comments

  1. Barnabas Eienbach

    Dec 16, 2020 at 5:17 am

    Really easy and delicious! 10/10

    Reply
    • Julia

      Dec 17, 2020 at 7:51 pm

      Happy to hear that! Thank you for your comment! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Martin

    Dec 07, 2020 at 4:21 pm

    Do you use pork belly with skin on or removed ?

    Reply
    • Julia

      Dec 10, 2020 at 9:36 pm

      Hi Martin! I’ve used the pork belly as is – if you scroll up and down the recipe, you will see the photo of the huge raw pork belly slice I used. I haven’t taken off anything of that raw slice. Just chopped it up for the recipe.

      Reply
  3. Jackie

    Nov 08, 2020 at 9:34 pm

    This recipe is excellent. The pork took a bit longer than 10 mins to crisp but otherwise the recipe was spot on. My husband can’t stop raving about this, thinks it was one of the best Chinese meals he’s ever had. I served it with your Spicy Asian Noodles with Mushrooms and Snow Peas – DELISH!! Thanks so much for sharing, we can’t wait to make this again.

    Reply
    • Julia

      Nov 14, 2020 at 7:35 pm

      Jackie, your comment made my day! Happy to hear you used 2 of my recipes and enjoyed them both! 🙂

      Reply
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