Crispy Pork Belly with Crispy Brussels, Asian BBQ Sauce, and Japanese Diner Rice

S6 E21 | Greg Fitzsimmons + Mike Gibbons | Spoilers, Torture + The New Godzilla | Something’s Burning

Greg Fitzsimmons and Mike Gibbons never fail to have me on the floor laughing, and this episode is no different. We break down the new Godzilla movie, create a new show called Spoiler Alert, debate what actually constitutes torture, and somehow end up on Ellen — all while I make crispy pork belly served with crispy Brussels, a punchy Asian BBQ sauce, and Japanese diner rice.

Ingredients

  • Pork Belly:
  • 3 lb pork belly, center cut, boneless, skin on
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp five spice powder
  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 1 cup coarse kosher salt
  • 1–2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1–2 tbsp vegetable oil

  • Japanese Diner Rice:
  • 2 cups short grain rice
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 3 sheets sushi nori (or seaweed snacks)
  • ½ cup salted potato chips, lightly crushed

  • Crispy Brussels:
  • 1 lb Brussels sprouts, halved
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • Garlic salt
  • Ichimi togarashi (Japanese chili powder)

  • Asian BBQ Sauce:
  • 1 cup light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 green onions, cut into chunks
  • ⅓ cup white sugar
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1-inch knob fresh ginger, rough chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, rough chopped
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Method

  1. Preheat air fryer to 250°F and preheat oven to 200°F.
  2. In a small bowl, mix ½ tsp salt, pepper, five spice powder, white sugar, and Shaoxing wine into a paste.
  3. Place pork belly meat-side up. Cut four ½-inch-deep slices lengthwise across the pork (do not cut through to the skin).
  4. Rub spice paste all over the meat side, getting into the grooves—avoid getting seasoning on the skin.
  5. Flip pork skin-side up and pat very dry with paper towels.
  6. Pierce tiny holes all over the skin with a small sharp knife (don’t go through to the meat). Pat dry again.
  7. Build an aluminum foil “tray” around the pork, skin-side up, leaving skin exposed. Brush skin with vinegar.
  8. Place pork in air fryer basket and cover skin with a thick layer of coarse kosher salt.
  9. Air fry at 250°F for 30 minutes (first bake).
  10. Meanwhile, rinse rice well and cook in rice cooker according to instructions. Hold warm when done.
  11. For crispy Brussels: heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high, add 1 cup oil, warm 1 minute.
  12. Fry Brussels in two batches, 2–3 minutes per batch until golden. Remove to sheet tray.
  13. Season Brussels generously with garlic salt and lightly with ichimi togarashi. Hold in the warm oven.
  14. After the pork’s first cook, remove basket and lift off the salt layer with a spatula; discard and scrape excess.
  15. Pat the pork skin dry with a paper towel.
  16. Brush only the skin with vegetable oil.
  17. Air fry again at 400°F for 30–35 minutes until skin is puffed and crisp (start checking at 20 minutes; cover corners with foil if browning too fast).
  18. Make BBQ sauce: blitz all sauce ingredients in a blender/mini processor until smooth.
  19. Pour into saucepan, bring to boil, then reduce to low and simmer 10–15 minutes until slightly thickened. Set into serving bowls.
  20. When pork is done, remove and rest 10 minutes on a cutting board.
  21. Season rice: add mirin, rice vinegar, butter, and light soy sauce. Fluff and let butter melt through.
  22. Serve rice in bowls and snip nori over the top; finish with crushed potato chips.
  23. Cut pork into bite-size chunks. Serve with crispy Brussels and BBQ sauce for drizzling/dipping (and extra soy sauce on the side if desired).

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