Pork Belly Tacos with Crunchy Slaw

These pork belly tacos are so addictive. The pork belly melts in your mouth, while the crunchy slaw adds just the right amount of crunch.

There’s nothing I don’t like about pork belly tacos. I would eat them every day if I thought it was a wise nutritional decision. Alas, it’s reserved for an occasional treat, much like these air fryer pork belly bites or this pork belly in the slow cooker that I also adore.

Slow cooking a pork belly isn’t exactly the easiest or quickest thing to do. No one has time for that! But these tacos use pork belly strips that you can buy already sliced. They take the long preparation and day-long cooking out of the equation. In fact, it only takes about 30 minutes to make these pork belly slices. See the recipe here.

This method of cooking the pork belly is much faster, and the pork belly turns out really great – juicy and tender, with crunchy charred bits. Served on corn tortillas, these pork belly strips are so good, you won’t be able to resist.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Pork belly -If you can buy the pork belly already sliced, that’s the easiest way. They typically come in slices of about 1″ thick. At most meat counters you can ask the butcher to cut them for you. It’s rare that a butcher counter doesn’t have pork belly slabs in the back that they can slice for you.
• Olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Hoisin sauce – This sauce gives the pork belly a delicious salty sweet glaze.
• Brown sugar – Helps the pork belly get caramelized as it cooks.
• Soy sauce – You can use regular soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce.
• Slaw ingredients – Cucumber, carrot, radish, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce.
• Taco ingredients – Corn tortillas, yum yum sauce, and green onion.

Tips & Notes

• We use corn tortillas, but you can use flour tortillas instead if you want.
• You can make a yum yum sauce by combining 1 tablespoon mayo with 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sriracha. 
• Don’t overcook the pork. There should still be some visible fat streaks in the meat. If you cook them too long, the fat will completely render out and the slices won’t be as juicy and tender.

What Pork Belly to Use

• If you can buy the pork belly already sliced, that’s the easiest way. They typically come in slices of about 1″ thick. If you can’t get slices, you can buy a pork belly slab and cut it into slices yourself. This is easiest to achieve when the meat is still just slightly frozen.
• Another even better idea is to ask your butcher to cut them for you. It’s rare that a butcher counter doesn’t have pork belly slabs in the back that they can slice for you.
• And finally – you can always use pork belly squares or pieces, if you can’t get slices. The pieces are just as good on these tacos.

How to Make Pork Belly Slices

We prefer to bake pork belly slices. It takes about 30 minutes. However, you can also air fry them or even grill them on the BBQ.

How to Bake Pork Belly

Place the slices on a baking sheet. Rub them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then put them in the oven for 15 minutes on 375°F (190°C). Flip them over and put them back in for 10-15 more minutes. Near the end, watch them well. You don’t want to overdo it. The time it takes to fully cook them will vary based on the thickness of your pieces, so don’t just go by time.

There should still be some visible fat streaks in the meat. If you cook them too long, the fat will completely render out and the slices won’t be juicy and tender, they’ll be crispy and dry.

When they’re looking a bit caramelized and bubbly, take them out of the oven and baste them with the glaze. Then put them back in for just 2 minutes on each side, just to get the glaze all bubbly.

How to Make the Asian Slaw

These pork belly tacos don’t need a lot of toppings. You want the pork to be the star of the show. But all that rich meat needs some acidity and crunch to balance it. You can use whatever vegetables you want in this slaw. If you only have carrots, that’s fine. I use a mix of carrot, cucumber and radishes.

Slice the veggies into matchsticks and put them in a bowl with some vinegar and soy sauce to give them a quick pickle. Ten minutes is about all they need. You can add as much or as little of the slaw as you want to your tacos.

I then drizzle the tacos with Yum Yum sauce. You can use the recipe at that link to make my favorite yum yum sauce. It’s just mayonnaise and sriracha mixed with Lee Kum Kee Oriental sesame dressing. You can substitute the dressing with mirin or soy sauce, in a pinch.

Corn Tortillas vs Flour Tortillas

I like to eat these pork belly tacos on both corn and flour. You can choose your preference. The small street taco corn tortillas are perfect size for the tacos.

If you use flour tortillas, get the smallest size you can – usually 6″. Since these are bigger than the corn tortillas, it’s best to cut the pork belly into smaller pieces so it’s easier to eat.

If you’re looking for a side to serve with these crispy pork belly tacos, try this Mexican street corn. It also goes very well with this Bacon, Jalapeno and Corn Salad.

What Our Readers Are Saying

You don’t have to just take my word for it. Hundreds of readers have tried this recipe and loved it. See below some of the reviews we’ve received from visitors on Pinterest.

Other Recipes to Try

• Air Fryer Pork Belly Bites
• Crispy Shrimp Tacos
• Crispy Baked Taco Egg Rolls
• Best Ever Taco Pizza

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