Chinese style pork belly bites are so easy to make in your Air Fryer! Crispy yet melt-in-the mouth tender with an irresistible sweet-salty flavor that will have you craving more.
Make sure to check out my equally delicious Air Fryer Steak Bites recipe!
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Confession time… I have a large piece of pork belly in my freezer that I have been too intimidated to tackle for a very long time.
And here’s why… Most pork belly recipes seem kind of long-winded. A lot require a lengthy process of braising / slow cooking before frying.
NOT these air fryer pork belly bites! This recipe is super-easy and a fabulous way to use pork belly slices.
You can serve my pork belly bites as a starter or appetizer or a main meal paired spicy garlic noodles, or sticky rice and steamed greens.
Air Fryer Pork Belly Ingredients
Here’s what you will need to make our sticky pork belly bites – I used my Cosori Air Fryer, a rack and a silicone air liner for this recipe.
- Pork Belly Slices: Pork belly is basically bacon, before it is cured and sliced. It can be sold as a large slab or as rindless pork belly slices which is what I used.
For the Asian marinade
- Hoisin sauce
- Soy sauce
- Minced garlic and ginger
- Rice vinegar
- Honey and brown sugar
- Sesame oil
HOW TO MAKE CRISPY AIR FRYER PORK BELLY BITES
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a pyrex dish. Add the pork belly slices, turn once to coat and marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to overnight in the fridge.
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F / 200°C. Place the pork belly slices in a single layer on a rack or directly in the basket of your air fryer and reserve the marinade. NOTE: You may need to cook in batches, depending on the size of your fryer.
Air fry the slices for 18-20 minutes, flipping them over halfway through. The pork will be sizzling and browned at the edges and some of the fat will have rendered.
Use tongs to remove from the air fryer and cut into bite-sized cubes using a sharp knife.
Pour the marinade into a silicone air fryer liner, add the cubed pork belly bites and toss to coat.
Lower the heat to 375°F / 190°C and air fry for a further 15-20 minutes, turning the bites over a few times so that they crisp up evenly. NOTE: if the pork is coloring too much or the marinade is burning, you should reduce the heat a little further.
Serve your pork belly cubes garnished with sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds as a shared side dish or over rice for a more substantial meal.
How long does belly pork take in air fryer?
This will depend somewhat on the brand of your air fryer, it’s wattage and so on. I found that while 20 minutes was sufficient for the pork belly to be cooked through, it needed another 10-15 minutes to become tender.
By cooking on a rack first, we allow for some of the fat to render first. Then the pork is cooked again, this time in the marinade, allowing it to become irresistibly sticky-crisp, with caramelized edges and moist and tender interior.
Worth noting: since the marinade contains honey and sugar it is prone to burning. If you notice the pork browning too quickly then reduce the heat.
HAVE YOU MADE MY AIR FRYER PORK BELLY RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram with @supergolden88 and the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day! I have also just launched my TikTok channel and would love to meet you there 🙂
Air Fryer Pork Belly Bites
Equipment & Tools
Ingredients
- 8 pork belly slices , without rind
Marinade
- ⅓ cup (80g) hoisin sauce
- ⅓ cup (80g) soy sauce, dark
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp ginger , minced thumb-sized piece fresh ginger)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
To serve
- 5 spring onions , green part only, finely diced
- 1 red chilli , deseeded and finely diced
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a pyrex dish. Add the pork belly slices, turn once to coat and marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to overnight in the fridge.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F / 200°C.
- Place the pork belly slices in a single layer on a rack or directly in the basket of your air fryer and reserve the marinade. NOTE: You may need to cook in batches, depending on the size of your fryer.
- Air fry the slices for 18-20 minutes, flipping them over halfway through. The pork will be sizzling and browned at the edges and some of the fat will have rendered. Use tongs to remove from the air fryer and cut into bite-sized cubes.
- Pour the marinade into a silicone air fryer liner, add the cubed pork belly bites and toss to coat.
- Lower the heat to 375°F / 190°C and air fry for a further 15-20 minutes, turning the bites over a few times so that they crisp up evenly. NOTE: if the pork is coloring too much you can reduce the heat a little further.
- Serve these Chinese pork belly bites garnished with sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds as a side dish or over steamed rice for a more substantial meal.
John Jones says
Nice recipe, well explained and with useful pictures.
However there was quite a lot of marinade left and when I added it all to the pork belly pieces it seemed more like a stew and the meat did not go crispy. Are you supposed to add it all ?
Lucy Parissi says
Hi John, I would not add it all if there seems like it is too much. You can reduce it on the stove if preferred
Peter Campbell says
Just done this to your recipe. Great flavour but pork too well done. I have a Ninja Air Fryer and will try again on lower heat. As pork seemed to be cooked and tender after first cooking I wonder if I could skip second stage and just recombine the marinade and pork and reheat on cooktop?
Lucy Parissi says
You can try cooking it for a little less time
Lora says
hi, the recipe says to add both 2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar and 2 tbsp rice vinegar which is the same thing. Do we add it twice or is it a typo? thank you. 😊
Lucy Parissi says
Hi Lora, thanks for picking that its just rice vinegar
Jack says
where do I obtain a cosori in Alicante Spain?
Lucy Parissi says
Hi Jack – if you have Amazon you will no doubt find a selection of air fryers. Cosori is the one I use but there are tons of other brands such as Ninja, Instant Pot etc.