Asian Marinated Pork Belly
Marinated pork belly will quickly become your new favorite dish! It’s incredibly tender and flavorful, and deliciously unique! This Asian pork belly recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner or holiday meal.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Pork belly is one of the most flavorful cuts of pork. The highly-sought after cut of meat is where bacon and pancetta come from. Where there is fat, there is also flavor, making marinated pork belly is next-level delicious!
- Earthy umami Asian flavors. The rich pork belly pairs beautifully with the sweet and savory honey-soy marinade, plus just a little kick of heat!
👉 Why marinate pork belly? The elements of the marinade (fat, acid, and flavor enhancers) work together to tenderize the pork belly while infusing flavor and imparting moisture.
Like my recipe for Maple Mustard Pork Loin, this Asian pork belly recipe is an easy way to infuse flavors without a bunch of extra time or work. Enjoy it on a busy weeknight or when entertaining!

Ingredients for Marinated Pork Belly
If your local grocery store sells pork belly, it will be in the meat department near the other cuts of pork. If you have trouble finding it, ask the store manager or butcher to help you. If your store doesn’t sell it, you may need to go to a local butcher shop or purchase online. We love ordering from Porter Road!
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
- Pork Belly – the star of the recipe!
- Honey – Honey will work best for this, but you can also substitute agave.
- Soy Sauce – If you’re avoiding soy or want to make this recipe Paleo-compatible, substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce.
- Sesame Oil – This oil is best for flavor, but if you don’t have it, substitute avocado or olive oil.
- Rice vinegar – Substitute apple cider vinegar if you don’t have it
- Garlic – whole cloves mince or use pre-minced garlic
- Sriracha sauce – The sriracha is optional! If you like a little kick, I definitely recommend including it. You can also substitute any other hot sauce you enjoy.
- Smoked Paprika, Salt and Pepper
The honey soy marinade is really simple to make, and it isn’t only good for marinating pork! The earthy and slightly sweet flavors work really well with my recipes for grilled chicken and foil wrapped salmon, too.
How to Marinate Pork Belly

- Prepare the marinade. Combine the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, vinegar, sriracha, minced garlic, and seasonings together in a bowl. Whisk the marinade together until it’s mixed fully.
👉 If the thick, gooey honey makes it difficult to whisk together, microwave the mixture for 10-15 seconds, then try mixing again.

- Prepare and marinate the pork. Use a sharp knife to carefully score just through the fat both horizontally and vertically to create a grid pattern.
👉 Scoring pork belly is SUPER important to imparting flavor into the meat and making sure every bite has crispy pieces of fat, so don’t skip this step!
Next, set the pork belly in a baking dish. Pour the marinade over the pork belly and use your hands to turn the pork, working the marinade into the scored pieces of fat.
Cover the dish and refrigerate to marinate for at least an hour, or up to 18 hours.

- Cook the marinated pork belly. Remove the pork from the marinade and transfer it to a shallow baking dish. Or, if you want to use the same dish you marinated the pork in, simply drain the marinade from it. Discard the used marinade.
- Bake the pork belly uncovered for the first part of the cook time. Then you’ll reduce the temperature of the oven, cover and keep cooking nice and slow!
- Rest, slice, and serve. Remove from the oven and allow the pork to rest for about 10 minutes, then slice into individual servings and dig it!
Tips for Success
- Use a digital cooking thermometer to test for doneness. It’s important to be sure that the cooked pork belly is safe to eat. Per USDA guidelines, the internal temperature of pork products (after a few minutes of resting) should be 145°F. (63°C.)
- Never reuse marinades that have been used on raw meat! The bacteria left behind from the raw meat will not cook out of the marinade.
- For the juiciest pork, cut individual slices against the grain of the meat. Cutting against the grain means cutting across the muscle fibers. This shortens them, so they are more tender and easier to digest.
Air Fryer Cooking Instructions
Because the air fryer cooks using convection, the best way to cook pork belly in the air fryer is to cut it into bite-sized pieces before marinating.
Add the marinated pork belly pieces to a preheated air fryer at 400°F with the basket lightly greased. Cook for for 18-22 minutes, stopping every five minutes to turn the pieces.

Asian Pork Belly Recipe FAQ
I recommend marinating pork belly for at least an hour, or up to 18 hours. Be sure to marinate it in the fridge, not at room temperature.
I recommend using about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of marinade per pound of pork belly.
Serving Suggestions
Asian marinated pork belly is delicious with sides like roasted broccoli and jasmine rice. If you want different veggies, it goes well with roasted parsnips and carrots, too. Instead of rice, serve it with Hasselback potatoes.
Other Asian Recipes
- Easy Salmon Stir Fry with Vegetables
- Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
- Bite-Sized Pork Belly Potato Stacks
- Air Fryer Honey-BBQ Pork Belly Bites
I’d love to hear about your experience making this recipe!
Please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @cookathomemom.

Asian Marinated Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork belly
Asian Marinade
- 1/3 cup soy sauce or substitute coconut aminos
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or substitute apple cider vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic about 2 Tablespoons minced
- 1 tablespoon sriracha or substitute any other hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Measure the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, vinegar, sriracha, garlic, and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Whisk the marinade ingredients together until fully combined.
- Use a sharp knife to score just through the fat both horizontally and vertically to create a grid pattern. Set the pork belly in a baking dish. Pour the marinade over the pork belly and use your hands to turn the pork, working the marinade into the scored pieces of fat.
- Cover and refrigerate to marinate for at least an hour, or up to 18 hours. Drain and discard the excess marinade after. Do not reuse!
- Bake the pork belly uncovered at 400°F (204°C) for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, and lower the temperature to 275°F (135°C).
- Lightly cover or tent the dish with a piece of foil. Cook for another 20-25 minutes, until the internal temperature is 145°F (63°C).
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and allow the pork to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing into individual servings.
Notes
- Do not reuse marinade! Discard the marinade once it’s been used.
- Pork is cooked once it reaches 145°F (63°C), per USDA.
- I recommend the high-quality pork belly from Porter Road!