PINOY FOOD RECIPE : LECHON KAWALI

Lechon Kawali, a crisp pork Filipino dish

Do you love Filipino food? For foreign readers of this food blog, have you even tried Filipino food? If you have, what are your favorites? If not, you should be trying right about now and here is a guaranteed deliriously delicious Pinoy recipe for pork lovers.

This Lechon Kawali recipe is a combination of inspirations over the years. Cooking Basics, a former culinary school which I collaborated in a previous project taught me about boiling the pork this way (read on the procedure and you will know what I am saying) while the marinate is an inspiration on how I marinate my Pork Adobo, an iconic Filipino dish.  

Lechon Kawali Ingredients

Ingredients :

½ kg. Country-style cut Pork (pork skin, pork fat & pork meat you see in layers)

1/3 cup Distilled Cane Vinegar

Whole Peppercorns (a few pieces)

1 Bayleaf

Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

2 Whole Garlic, skinned & pounded

1/3 cup Premium Fish Sauce (patis in Filipino)

3-4 cups of water

Oil for deep frying

  

Marinated pork

Procedure :

1) The first 5 ingredients will be used for marinate. Lay pork in a sealable container. Season with ground black pepper and set aside for 30 minutes.

2)    Add in distilled cane vinegar evenly on the pork using a spoon, drop in whole peppercorns (up to you if you prefer pounding the peppercorns first) and bayleaf. Marinate for 3 to 4 hours or even overnight.

3)    Now we’re ready to cook the pork until tender. Mix 3 cups of water and fish sauce then add garlic to your pan. Once the fish sauce-water mixture starts to boil, add the marinated pork. Cook in medium heat until tender, adding more water as needed. This usually takes about more than one (1) hour, depending on how young the pork meat is.

Pierce the hardest part of pork meat with a knife or fork to test if it is tender.

The fish sauce and water mixture for boiling is what I learned from Cooking Basics. Fish sauce is an alternative to salt and makes this dish yummier.

 

Tenderized pork

4)    Once the pork meat in tender, set aside for 30 to 40 minutes. Let it cool and allow the fish sauce-water mixture to drip.

5)    After the tenderized pork has been cooled, heat pan with cooking oil for deep frying.

Lechon Kawali, a crispy pork Filipino dish

 6)    In high heat, deep fry tenderized pork with sliced garlic (free free to add in the peppercorns & bayleaf from the marinate) for 3-4 minutes or until golden but not burnt and you get that popped pork skin look.

Dipping Sauce :

In the absence of Sinamak, a spiced bottle of vinegar and native in Iligan, a province in the south, you can create your own vinegar sauce. Just combine vinegar, peppercorns and crushed garlic. Add some chillies if you wish.

Lechon Kawali, a delicious Filipino dish

Enjoy this deliriously delicious Filipino dish, Lechon Kawali – crisp yet tender with a crackling pork skin to boot! Now all you need is piping white rice and you’re all set. Now, that’s eating to your heart’s content!

  

Cooking Tips :

Lechon Kawali

While the pork is being fried, you will hear the skin popping so do not uncover or suffer from hot cooking oil splatter all over your kitchen and may even reach you. I prefer a glass cover when cooking Lechon Kawali.

Fresh garlic for cooking

Freshly bought garlic makes this dish more delicious and aromatic. So whenever I want to make Lechon Kawali, I buy fresh garlic and choose well. Smell them if you have to and don’t buy those with dried parts.

Monday Madness at Eat To Your Heart's Content

I LOVE Lechon Kawali and this Pinoy food recipe is definitely a part of my Monday Madness feature here at Eat To Your Heart’s Content!  

 

 

Follow @eattoyourheartscontent at Instagram

Are you planning to go to the Philippines or love Filipino food? Then follow me at Instagram as I often share Pinoy recipes and food discoveries around the archipelago via @eattoyourheartscontent.

I hope you continue to join me as I search for more deliriously delicious dining destinations, food discoveries and easy to create recipes.

Feel free to email me at eattoyourheartscontent@gmail.com - I love to hear from you.

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Pie Rivera is a former food columnist of Republic of 7107 Island Travel Magazine and a freelance food & travel writer for local magazines and online travel communities. She is a TV producer and creative director by day and wanderlust at heart.

Pie Rivera captured all photos in this site, unless otherwise stated.

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