Crispy Fried Pork Belly

Ingredients:
2 lbs. pork belly
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp whole pepper corn
5 pcs dried bay leave
3 cups cooking oil
34 ounces water

Method:
1. Place the water on a big cooking pot and bring to boil.
2. Add the pork belly. Add 1 tbsp of salt and 1 tbsp of pepper. Add the bay leaves. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender
3. Remove the meat from the pot. Let it cool down for a few minutes; you may choose to refrigerate. Cut the skin of the meat diagonally to add crispiness in frying.
4. Spread the remaining salt and pepper on the meat. Make sure to distribute these evenly on all sections of the meat.
5. On a dry cooking pot, put the cooking oil and heat it up.
6. Fry the meat until the immersed side is brown and the skin texture is crispy.
7. Flip the meat to cook the opposite side.
8. Remove the meat from the pan and slice to serving portions.

Happy cooking 🙂

Lechon Liempo

This is a Filipino rotisserie pork. It is a luscious pork belly meat and fat with salty crackling skin.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of Kosher salt
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper
5-lb of pork belly with skin
1 disposable foil pan

Method:
1. In a small bowl, place together oil, garlic, salt, vinegar, and black pepper.
2. Put pork belly on a cutting board skin-side down. Score flesh diagonally about every 2-inches. Repeat in opposite direction, creating a diamond pattern. Spread garlic mixture evenly all over the flesh.
3. Roll pork into a cylinder and tie tightly with butcher twine about every inch.
4. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on either side of the charcoal grate and place a foil pan between the two piles of coals. Cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes.
5. Run spit of the rotisserie through middle of pork and secure ends with rotisserie forks. Place on the rotisserie, cover, and cook at medium heat until skin has darkened and crisped and pork registers 160 degrees when an instant read thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the meat (this will take about 3 hours), replenishing coals to maintain temperature as needed. Of course you may choose to use an electric rotisserie or even oven bake your liempo but doing it the traditional way is definitely more tasty 🙂
6. Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes. Remove spit, slice, and serve. You may eat as it is or dip it in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce and garlic.

Happy Cooking 🙂

Pansit Palabok

Pansit Palabok is a Filipino Dish. Filipinos are fond of eating; they eat more than 3 meals a day. I was having second thoughts of putting this recipe in the snack category because Filipinos will have Pansit Palabok for their main meals too. Anyway, I think it will best be described as a snack food.

So, here it goes….

Ingredients:
1 lb of rice noodles
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1/2 pound of ground pork
1 tablespoon of anatto powder
3 cups of pork broth
1 shrimp cube
6 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
For the Toppings:
1 cup of thinly sliced boiled pork
½ cup of smoked fish flakes
½ cup of pounded pork cracklings (chicharon)
2 hard boiled eggs,sliced
½ cup of boiled shrimps (head and shell removed)
3 tablespoons of fried garlic
2 pieces of sliced lemon (but best if you can find calamansi, 6 to 8 pieces)

Method:
1. Soak the rice noodles in water for 15 minutes; drain and set aside.
2. Cook the sauce by heating a saucepan. Pour-in the cooking oil. When the oil is hot enough, put-in the ground pork and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Dilute the annato powder in pork broth then pour the mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the shrimp cube; stir and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the flour gradually while stirring. Add the fish sauce and ground black pepper then simmer until sauce becomes thick. Set aside.
5. Boil enough water in a pot. Place the soaked noodles in a metal strainer; submerge the strainer in the boiling water for a minute or until the noodles are cooked.
6. Remove the strainer from the pot and drain the liquid from the noodles.
7. Place the noodles in the serving plate.
8. Pour the sauce on top of the noodles then arrange the toppings over the sauce.
9. Serve with a slice of lemon or calamansi.

Happy Cooking 🙂