Hello everyone! This is another Filipino dish that I really love. I have a lot of favourite Filipino dishes actually, but there are some that I cannot bring myself to eat – I’m pretty sure they taste good, but a little bit off putting for me, and yes, I am talking about the infamous dinuguan (a savoury stew of meat and/or offal, simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chilli, and vinegar). I get the shivers every time I think about this dish. Anyway, enough about this dish for it’s thankfully not what today’s post will be about.

Lechon Kawali is basically a pan-roasted pork dish popular in the Philippines. It is usually accompanied by sarsa ni mang tomas (basically a sauce blend of liver, vinegar and spices that give that distinct sweet and spicy taste it is famous for), ketchup, or soy sauce with calamansi (Philippine lime). Lechon kawali is cooked by boiling then later deep frying a portion of the pig.

Lechon Paksiw is essentially a term associated to a dish that is cooked with vinegar, garlic, onion, and sarsa ni mang tomas sauce. It is a pork dish made from leftover roast pig which is known as Lechon. However, fresh pork can also be used to make lechon kawali. Traditionally, as mentioned above, the pork is deep fried. Because I don’t like deep frying stuff, I roasted the pork in the oven like I would do for pork crackling – the result I find is better, not oily and the meat remains tender and juicy on the inside where as deep frying has a tendency to make the meat tough and dry.

PREP TIME (see below)* | COOKING TIME 1 HOUR 20 MINS |
SERVES 4-6

*If you plan on making dish, plan for about 1-3 days ahead for resting time in the refrigerator.

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg fresh pork belly or shoulder
• 1 bottle (330g) mang tomas all purpose sauce
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 3 bird’s eye chillies
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup pork stock
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 6 dried bay leaves
• 2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• Ground salt
• Oil for rubbing

METHOD

1. Score the skin with a very sharp knife. Place the meat in a large pot with water, 1 tsp of the whole peppercorns and half of the bay leaves. Boil for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain, placing in a large bowl and let to cool to room temperature. Reserve the pork stock for cooking later. Once the meat has cooled down, refrigerate uncovered for at least 24 hours or for up to 3 days for a better result. Refrigerating the meat will help to draw out any remaining moisture. Remove from the refrigerator and bring back to room temperature prior to roasting in the oven
2. Preheat oven between 220-240C. Rub oil and plenty of salt into the scored skin, really getting it into the slits of the score marks. The fat under the skin will react to the salt and that is what makes the skin puff up and crisp up. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes and then bring the temperature down to 160C and roast for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 20 minutes. Then cut the pork into chunks.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients into a large pot together with the pork belly chunks. Simmer for 20 minutes and then serve with steamed rice.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx