Not-so-guilt-free Crispy Pork Belly: How to make non-fried Lechon Kawali

Pork Belly or Liempo in filipino is one of my favorite cut of meat and very common in Filipino cuisine. You can make various dishes from soups to stews and it will turn out delicious. Liempo is the cut of meat while the dish is called Crispy Pork Belly or in Filipino Lechon Kawali because it resembles the taste of lechon or roast pig but cooked on kawali or wok/skillet. 

If you really in for a special kind of lechon kawali, you can visit Ilocos for their mouth-watering crispy pork belly or bagnet in Ilocano. What makes this really special, they double fry it which makes it really crispy. And yes,pork belly +double-fried = crispy skin overload. 

I try to eat the healthiest food as possible, but hey, sometimes I crave for lechon kawali. Why not? But I try to make it myself and avoid buying or eating it in restaurants because I know they deep-fry it (which is delicious) but I will be so guilty while eating it. I tried different methods but cooking it in my turbo broiler gives me the best lechon kawali without the extra fat. Using oven is not economical here in the Philippines but if you don't have a turbo broiler, oven will work just as fine.  Also, I tried the pan-fry method. I sliced the pork belly an inch and a half, put on a cold skillet and just like cooking bacon, I let it render out its fat and it will leave you the crispiest pork belly. 

About choosing your pork belly, go for the bacon part, It has an even layer of fat and meat and will less likely to have bones but if there's any, the bones will just come out easily as long as you cook it until tender but not falling apart. I also used simple aromatics but you can add more vegetables to your boiling water for another layer of flavor. Just think you are making your own pork stock. 

My favorite dipping sauce will be suka na may bawang (vinegar with garlic) or lechon sauce (Mang Tomas).

I forgot to make little incisions across.This will help the chopping easier and the edges will be crispier.


CRISPY PORK BELLY

1whole pork belly (1kg or 2.2lbs)
5 dry bay leaves
6 whole peppercorns
3tbsps. kosher salt
pepper to taste




1. In a pot of boiling water, add bay leaves, whole peppercorns,salt and pork. Do not cut the pork in half, instead use a big pot to cook the entire pork. It won"t shrink that much when you cook it in the turbo broiler or oven. Flip it over to cook the other side. You know it is tender enough when you insert a knife and it just comes out easily.

2. Once the pork is cooked,let it cool until it's cool enough to handle. Pre-heat your broiler/oven to 450F. Poke the skin with a fork to release pork fat. Make little incisions across maybe an inch apart. Season the pork liberally with salt and pepper. If you are using your broiler, make sure it's skin side up and if it's too big, just cut in half or do it in batches. 

3. When the skin is nice and crispy, flip it over for an even crispiness. Flip it on the left and right side until all sides are crispy. Not all broilers are the same. Some will take longer or less cooking time.Let it cool but not too long just cool enough to chop it. Do not cover the pork while resting because it will create steam and make the pork soggy.


You can deep fry the pork just make sure that you let it cool completely and pat it dry really well.