Pork Belly Tea Sandwiches Recipe (2024)

Recipe from Fatty Crab

Adapted by Florence Fabricant

Total Time: 4 hours plus overnight marinating
Rating: 4(75)
Notes: Read community notes

These sandwiches are not dainty pinkie-in-the-air nibbles, but hefty pork belly tea sandwiches that cater to hearty appetites and cold beer. Zak Pelaccio, the chef and an owner of Fatty Crab, a Malaysian street food cafe on the edge of the meatpacking district, got the idea for them from the afternoon English tea services he enjoyed when he lived in Malaysia.

With each bite the sandwiches offer richness, salt and spice, the components that make game day food so satisfying. Southeast Asian chili sauce, two kinds of soy sauce and streaky pork fat heighten the taste.

And they are a cinch to make. Just marinate, braise then pile the meat onto big slices of dense supermarket white bread that have been slathered with spicy mayonnaise. They can be made in advance and wrapped and refrigerated for a couple of hours before serving. —Florence Fabricant

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Ingredients

Yield:12 sandwiches, 36 pieces

1⅓cup sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
4tablespoons Chinese black vinegar
2tablespoons dark soy sauce
2tablespoons Asian fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
12-pound piece fresh pork belly, with skin
2bunches scallions
Salt
½ cup rice vinegar
1½ cups mayonnaise
1clove garlic, put through a press
2teaspoons Thai chili paste (sambal oelek) or sriracha (chili sauce)
24slices thick white bread
24large sprigs cilantro

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (28 servings)

334 calories; 28 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 1032 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Preparation

Step
1
In a bowl, combine kecap manis, black vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice. Place pork belly in a heavy 1-gallon freezer bag with zip closure. Pour soy sauce mixture in, close bag, place in another freezer bag to prevent leaking, and refrigerate at least 24 hours, turning from time to time.
Step
2
The next day, heat oven to 225 degrees. Place pork skin side up in a roasting pan with a close fit, pour in marinade, add about ⅓ cup water so liquid comes halfway up sides of pork. Cover with a sheet of parchment, then tightly cover with foil. Place in oven and roast about 3 hours, until a skewer inserted in pork meets little or no resistance. Allow to cool in pan about 30 minutes.
Step
3
While pork cooks, trim scallions, discarding all but about an inch of green, and slice very thin at an angle. Place in a bowl, toss with a little salt, and pour rice vinegar over. Cover and allow to marinate at least 2 hours. In a separate bowl mix mayonnaise with garlic and sambal oelek.
Step
4
When pork has cooled, remove skin. Cut pork in 4-inch-long chunks and cut each into very thin slices. You should be able to make at least 36 4-inch slices.
Step
5
Place bread on a work surface and spread each piece with mayonnaise mixture. Drain scallions and scatter them over half the bread slices. Top each of these with 3 slices pork lined side by side in a single layer. Place 2 cilantro sprigs on pork, then cover with remaining bread, mayonnaise side down. Trim crusts from each sandwich. Leave sandwiches whole or cut each into thirds, between the slices of pork, and serve.
See Also
The Rawtarian: Raw food recipes for beginners

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Cooking Notes

Les O2 years ago

Fantastic. Added more garlic to the mayo, and added one salted/drained cucumber, sliced thin, with the scallions. It was really, really terrific. Not sure why more ppl haven’t tried this recipe but I hope everyone does; it’s excellent.

Thomas6 years ago

This is fantastic and easy to make for a crowd.

Stella3 years ago

I can not find pork belly with skin. Will this work with the plain belly pork that is most commonly available? Is there anything that needs to be done differently?

Sarah3 years ago

Made with pre-sliced pork belly all roasted together in one pan. Doubled the recipe, and have a small roasting pan, so liquid almost covered the pork completely in pan. Still tasted amazing, followed recipe to a T

The Mays3 months ago

This felt like a 3- star recipe, but when you add in the expense of all of the sauce ingredients and the time spent over two days, it became a 2-star. Everyone said it was “good”, but there were no raves from the crowd. The ingredients tasted good but nothing really popped when put together. The amount of chili mayo the recipe asked for was exorbitant.

Susan1 year ago

I was searching for a pork belly recipe and came across this one by chance. So glad I did. Instead of tea sandwiches I served it on whole wheat burger buns, otherwise followed the recipe. It was delicious! I served the sandwiches with asian slaw for dinner, great meal.