Peking Pork Belly Pancakes

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This recipe is a combination of two of my all-time favorite dishes, Peking Duck and Crispy Roast Pork. Honestly, I cannot believe it’s taken me this long to trial making Peking Pork Belly Pancakes because oh my god! These taste so good! Of course they would too! Taking a perfectly cooked piece of Pork, complete with its crispy, crackling skin and wrapping it in a wrapper along with some freshly sliced Apple and sweet sauce may just be the best bite of food you can enjoy. This is an awesome way to utilize any leftover Roast Pork for lunch the next day. Equally so, it’s an awesome meal to make from scratch and enjoy as an appetizer, lunch, or dinner

How to make Peking Pork Belly Pancakes

The most important element in this dish is, of course, the Pork. Perfecting this dish all comes down to preparing the Pork Belly in the right way. As this dish aims to represent the similar textures of Peking Duck, it is critical that the Pork Belly becomes as crispy as possible. The good news is this is a really easy process, it just takes a bit of time

The key to achieving a beautifully crispy skin on your Pork Belly is removing as much moisture from the skin as possible. Less Moisture = more crispiness! There are two techniques we use in this dish to get as much moisture out of that skin as possible

First, score the skin with a sharp knife and then add a generous amount of Salt straight onto the skin. Salt will naturally begin to remove the moisture from the skin, and scoring the skin allows you to increase the area that the Salt can access on and under the skin

Scoring the Skin is basically cutting it into strips with a sharp knife. You want to score the skin deep enough that the entire skin has been sliced but try to avoid cutting into the flesh. Use a sharp knife to do this, and be careful of your hands as you are cutting as the skin is quite tough

Refrigerate the Pork Belly, uncovered, for at least 2 days before cooking

The dry air of the refrigerator will remove all that excess moisture from the Pork Belly skin, leaving it ridiculously dry and ready for crisping up in the oven. This technique is one we use for many of our crispy Pork dishes such as our Crispy Pork Belly with Szechuan Pepper and Crispy Roast Pork Shoulder recipes

This is a critical step in the skin drying process, but unfortunately it does mean you need to add 2 days to your prep time for the dish. We’re huge advocates for weekly meal planning at Dinnertime Somewhere, so plan to enjoy this dish a few days after the big weekly grocery shop. Prep the Pork then just leave it in the fridge for 2 days to do it’s thing. Trust us, it’s well worth the wait!

Cooking the Pork Belly

Once the Pork is ready to cook, remove it straight from the refrigerator and give it a good seasoning all over. Place the Pork onto a sheet pan and wrap it up with aluminum foil on all sides, but leave the skin completely exposed

This is a common technique for cooking Pork, as it will ensure that the skin cooks quicker and at a higher temperature than the flesh. Because Pork Belly is not as thick as other cuts of Pork, it will ensure the Pork flesh does not overcook

Crank the heat of your oven to it’s highest temperature and once hot, place the Pork straight into the center of the Oven. Roast for 20 minutes until the skin begins to bubble and form blisters. Once this occurs, drop the heat and roast at around 350F to cook the meat all the way through

Once cooked, remove the Pork from the oven and allow it to rest for about 10 – 15 minutes. Once rested, cut off the crispy skin and cut it into small pieces. Slice the Pork meat into thin strips that will fit perfectly into the Pancakes. While the Pork is resting we recommend preparing the Sauces

For this recipe we recommend two different sauces for unique flavor profiles

One of the big flavors that comes with a traditional Peking Duck is the Sauce. A famous Chinese Sauce known as Hoisin which has a deliciously rich and sweet flavor. The Hoisin Sauce works wonders with these Peking Pork Belly Pancakes. Not only does the Sweetness of the Hoisin Sauce pair extremely well with the Pork, but it evokes those nostalgic memories that you expect when biting into the dish

However, we also tested this dish with a homemade Apple Sauce and tried replacing the Hoisin Sauce with it. Let me tell you that the Apple Sauce tasted wonderful with the Pork Belly! Apple and Pork are an extremely popular combination, so it makes sense that they will go well together in these Pancakes

We also tried a Pancake with both the Hoisin Sauce and Apple Sauce combined. Honestly, it was a little too much sweetness and ended up drowning out the flavor of the Pork. We’d recommend sticking to just one sauce

So, we recommend making a batch of homemade Apple Sauce and serving it in a separate bowl along with the more traditional Hoisin Sauce. This way you can mix and match the different sauces to see which flavor combination you prefer

How to make a simple Apple Sauce to pair with the Peking Pork Belly Pancakes

Apple Sauce is such a great pairing with Roast Pork, and it’s so easy to make at home. The flavor of the Apple Sauce will be influenced massively by what type of Apple you use. If you use Green Apples you’ll get a sharper, tart flavor. For a sweeter flavor use Red Apples

We used Red Apples for this dish, and then compliment it with thinly sliced Green Apples for the Pancakes. To make the Sauce, peel and cut the Red Apples into chunks, being sure to remove the core. Cook it with a bit of water in a saucepan, covered over medium low heat for about 20 minutes until tender

Give the Apples a bit of a mash to form the Sauce, then add some Sugar and a pinch of Salt for flavor. That’s basically it! You can cook it in advance and re-heat when it’s go-time, or just cook it while the Roast Pork is resting

Plate the Peking Pork Belly Pancakes by laying out each individual component of the dish onto separate serving plates / bowls. This is a fun dish to allow everyone to prepare their own Pancakes, so make it easy for everyone by having each component easily accessible. Then it’s a simple matter of making your own Pancakes and enjoying their amazing flavors!

Peking Pork Belly Pancakes Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. Pork Belly
• 1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• 10 Peking Duck Wrappers (you can also use Spring Roll Wrappers)
• 3 tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
• 1 Green Apple, thinly sliced
• 2 Red Apples
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Score the Pork Belly with a sharp knife, forming diagonal diamond shapes onto the skin. Try to avoid cutting into the flesh, just cut the skin
2. Apply a generous amount of Salt to the Pork Belly skin (about 1 ½ tbsp.) then place in the refrigerator, uncovered for 2 days
3. When ready to cook, season the Pork flesh with Salt then place it in a large sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Fold the foil up so it forms around the Pork Belly, but leave the skin completely exposed. Rub the Pork skin with Butter, then add a sprinkle more Salt
4. Place the Pork in the oven which has been pre-heated to it’s highest temperature (anywhere between 450 – 500F). Roast for 15 – 20 minutes until the Skin has blistered and turned crispy
5. Drop the heat to 350F and roast for a further 30 – 40 minutes until the Pork meat temperature is 140F. Remove from the Oven and set aside to rest for 10 minutes before slicing
   
   

Making the Apple Sauce

6. Remove the Red Apple skin and cut into pieces, discarding the Apple core. Place into a Saucepan over medium low heat with ½ cup of Water. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
7. Once the Apple is tender, mash it with a Potato Masher (or you can just use the back of a spoon). Add the Sugar and a pinch of Salt and mix well. Cover and turn off the heat to keep warm until you’re ready to serve
   
   

Making the Peking Pork Belly Pancakes

8. Heat the Pancakes by placing them on a plate covered in cling film and Microwave for 1 minute to warm through
9. Lay a pancake out on a plate and then place a slice of Pork Meat on the top part of the Pancake. Add 2 slices of Green Apple, and your choice of either Hoisin Sauce or Apple Sauce. Top with a piece of Crispy Pork skin
10. Fold the bottom half of the pancake over the filling, then fold in each side and dive in!
    
    

Trust us, you’re going to love this dish! The flavor combinations you can create from these amazing Peking Pork Belly Pancakes is simply phenomenal! Either using leftover Pork or making this dish from scratch it’s an amazing bite of food that we know you’re going to love

We love repurposing leftovers into fun and unique dishes here at Dinnertime Somewhere. Head over to our Lunching on Leftovers page, to check out some great dishes we’ve created using leftovers. Here’s a few of our favorites:

• Cuban Sandwich Bites
• Fish Croquettes
• Beef Teriyaki Tataki
• California Breakfast Burrito
  
  

Happy Cooking!