Lechon Kawali Recipe is probably one of the delicious and breath taking (literally) dish of Filipinos. It is usually served in special occasion at home. But this dish is a menu regular in every restaurants or even carenderias in the Philippines.
So, what is lechon kawali? Lechon kawali is a deep fried pork belly dish. However, it is not your regular deep fried pork belly. The meat is simmered until fork tender, then, it is left to dry at room temperature or in the fridge overnight before frying.
The idea is, you get this soft and tender meat inside but a crunchy texture outside. Yup! Those pork skin and fat is really crispy similar to that of chicharon. This dish is somewhat similar to your regular lechon but instead of roasting the whole pig you deep fry a portion of the whole meat.
The usual cut of meat to use for lechon kawali recipe is the pork belly. Since it has this alternating layer of fat and meat. However, for this recipe I will be using pork pigue or buttocks. I think it has a decent amount of fat and yet it has lots of meat.
Tips
If you want the juiciest cut of meat use the pork belly in your dish. After all it is the traditional cut of meat for this dish. However, for health concern in our family I decided to use the pigue for my lechon kawali recipe.
When using the lemongrass, I suggest you pound its stalks to release its flavor. I love the flavor of lemongrass in lechon kawali. It simply reminds me of the wonderful taste of the traditional lechon. Ginger is not usually use for lechon kawali but, hey, this is my recipe and I like the taste of ginger.
If you have time, it is always recommended to freeze you meat overnight before frying. This ensures you get that lovely pork cracklings we rave about. However, in my case, I just freeze it for an hour before deep frying it. However, I still get that crispy skin, though not as crispy as the regular lechon kawali.
I baste the pork skin with brine solution. Since I don’t have the time to freeze it overnight I thought of the brine solution would make the skin crispier, which it did.
You can check out Roasted Layered Herbed Pork Belly Strips Recipe for other version of crispy pork recipe.
Ingredients
| 1 1/2 kilo | Pork Pigue or Pork Belly |
| 2 stalks | Lemongrass, crushed |
| 1 head | Garlic, crushed |
| 1 bulb | Onion, chopped |
| 2 pieces | Thumb – sized Ginger, crushed |
| 1 Tablespoon | Whole Peppercorn |
| 1/4 Tablespoon | Ground Black Pepper |
| 5 Tablespoons | Salt |
| 4 cups | Water |
| Oil for Deep Frying | |
| 1 cup | Hot Water |
| 4 Tablespoons | Salt |
Procedure
Thoroughly clean the pork pigue or buttocks.
Place the lemongrass, garlic, onion, ginger, whole peppercorn, ground black pepper and salt at the bottom of a bot. Place the pork meat on top of the herbs and spices and pour water. Boil and simmer for an hour and a half or until the meat is tender.
Remove meat from the broth and pat dry. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.
Heat oil until smoking hot.
Combine hot water and salt. Mix until salt is dissolved. Baste the skin of the meat with the brine solution before frying.
Fry the meat until golden brown.
Lechon Kawali Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 kilo Pork Pigue or Pork Belly
- 2 stalks Lemongrass, crushed
- 1 head Garlic, crushed
- 1 bulb Onion, chopped
- 2 pieces Thumb – sized Ginger, crushed
- 1 Tablespoon Whole Peppercorn
- 1/4 Tablespoon Ground Black Pepper
- 5 Tablespoons Salt
- 4 cups Water
- OIl for Deep Frying
- 1 cup Hot Water
- 4 Tablespoons Salt
Instructions
- Thoroughly clean the pork pigue or buttocks.
- Place the lemongrass, garlic, onion, ginger, whole peppercorn, ground black pepper and salt at the bottom of a bot. Place the pork meat on top of the herbs and spices and pour water. Boil and simmer for an hour and a half or until the meat is tender.
- Remove meat from the broth and pat dry. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.
- Heat oil until smoking hot.
- Combine hot water and salt. Mix until salt is dissolved. Baste the skin of the meat with the brine solution before frying.
- Fry the meat until golden brown.
