• You can leave the pork belly in one whole slab/block or cut into 1-inch thick slices, or into cubes. It really depends on what you plan to use it for. If you plan to use it for kong bak bao, I prefer one bigger slice, but of course you can make kong bak bao with cube-size or sliced meat too
• Pat the pork belly dry with an absorbent paper towel. Add the marinade seasonings and rub them into the pork belly all over. Let it marinade for about 15 minutes at room temperature or you can do it overnight in the fridge too

Cooking with Instant pot:

• If you cut your pork belly into bigger thicker slice, searing the meat help to keep the meat moist. You can sear the meat in Instant pot by pressing saute and then once it's hot, add about 1 tbsp of cooking oil and sear the meat until golden brown all over. Do this in batches as they may not brown properly if it's too crowded. If you cut the pork belly into cube size, you can skip searing the meat and proceed to the next step
• Remove the seared meat from the pot. Add another tablespoon of oil and saute the onion, garlic, star anise, white peppercorn, rock sugar and cinnamon for about 5 minutes. There will be some caramelization stuck at the bottom of the pot. Deglaze the pot by adding 2 Tbsp of Shaoxing wine and water and use the spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing gets stuck on the bottom of the pot
• Add the seared pork belly followed by seasonings and stir to combine. Turn off the saute mode.
• Cover the lid, turn the pressure release valve to "sealing", set the pressure cooker timer to 15 minutes and then natural release (about 10 minutes) for a 1-inch thick slices. For cube size meat, set the timer to 20 minutes and then you can do quick release.
• If you keep the pork belly whole in one piece, set the timer to 30 minutes if you want to use it for kong bak pao. If you want to shred the meat, set it to 45 minutes.
• Once the pressure valve has collapsed, unlock the lid and transfer the pork belly slices to a plate and wait for 10 minutes before slicing (for bigger thicker slice). After 10 minutes, you can cut the thick slices into thinner slices if you prefer
• Turn on saute mode again and reduce the sauce in the inner pot slightly. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Save the sauce if serving with kong bak bao. If serving it as a meal, pour the sauce over the sliced pork belly

Cooking on stove-top:

• If you cut the pork belly into cube size, you can skip searing the meat and proceed to the next step. Searing the meat help to keep the meat moist. Preheat your heavy-bottom pot .Add about 1 tbsp of cooking oil and sear the meat until golden brown all over. Do this in batches as they may not brown properly if it's too crowded
• Remove the seared meat from the pot. Add another tablespoon of oil and saute the onion, garlic, star anise, white peppercorn, rock sugar and cinnamon for about 5 minutes. There will be some caramelization stuck at the bottom of the pot. Deglaze the pot by adding 2 Tbsp of Shaoxing wine and use the spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing gets stuck on the bottom of the pot
• Add the pork belly followed by seasonings and stir to combine. Add some water, just enough to barely cover the meat. Don't add too much as there will be more juice coming from the pork as you cook. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat and cover with a lid and let it simmer for the next 45 minutes or until the pork is tender but doesn't fall apart if you plan to use this for kong bak bao. If you want to shred the meat, you can cook longer until you can shred the meat easily
• Transfer the pork belly slices to a plate and wait for 10 minutes before slicing. After 10 minutes, you can cut the thick slices into thinner slices if you prefer
• You can reduce the sauce in the pot slightly by simmering it for another 5 minutes or so. Save the sauce if serving with kong bak bao. If serving it as a meal, pour the sauce over the sliced pork belly