Filipino-style steamed and deep-fried pork belly. [Photographs: Joshua Bousel]
Obtain the Recipe
Around I really like my mother-in-law's fried spare ribs. me will invariably fit in with my one real love of Filipino food—lechon kawali. This steamed and deep-fried pork belly is possibly the very best illustration of precisely how well Filipinos know their pork.
The outside is salty and additional crispy, as the interior is tender and moist with fat and juicy meat. It is a wealthy combination that pairs very well using the mild tartness of cane vinegar, which slices body fat sufficient to create eating an entire plate of fried pork a dangerously simple task.
Regardless of the obvious risk to my health, I have spent a substantial amount of time perfecting the recipe. Prepare thyself.
Belly from the Animal
Area of the magic of lechon kawali may be the bubbly, ultra-crisp skin, so the initial step would be to make certain you receive skin-on belly. I additionally recommend getting boneless belly for simple, but when yours has some rib bones attached, they are able to removed after or before boiling.
A Brothy Showdown
After you have the belly, the following factor you will need to do would be to boil it, which will help render out a few of the fat prior to the frying happens. According to other recipes I have seen, there is a split between boiling the belly in plain brine and water which has additional seasonings like garlic clove, peppercorns, bay leaves and soy sauce. I made the decision to perform a side-by-side comparison to determine the amount of a positive change that made.
I simmered the belly within the both of these different baths for any little over an hour or so, until I possibly could pierce your skin having a paring knife and also the meat was tender. I observed immediately the pork simmered with seasonings were built with a more appealing light-brown appearance (at left, below), and when I fried them up, it had been even the obvious champion for flavor too.
Relax
The next thing is to air-dry the steamed pork within the fridge overnight before frying, which will help the skin will crisp and puff up when fried (I have attempted the recipe without it air-drying stage and it is simply not nearly as good). I provide the steamed pork an ample seasoning with salt, because the seasoned water it had been simmered in is not quite enough to season it completely, then place it on the wire rack and set it within the refrigerator overnight.
Fry Time
To prep the belly for frying, I work into slices around three quarters inch thick—any thinner and you will over-crisp the pork, departing hardly any juicy and tender interior any thicker and also you risk not fully heating the pork through when it's golden and crispy outdoors.
The end result: a crisp and crunchy exterior, with tender, melting fat and meat right underneath the surface.
Just take a look at individuals little air bubbles within the skin.
Through the finish of testing, we had eaten more lechon kawali than any human should in a couple of days.
But that is the strength of lechon kawali: Despite as being a pure, unadulterated dose of pork, you simply don't tire from it. I take solace in the truth that if I am likely to eat such a lot of meat and fat, I am a minimum of doing the work within the most scrumptious ways possible.
Obtain the Recipe
Lechon Kawali (Filipino Crispy Fried Pork Belly)
