Cookbook:Chili-Honey Glazed Filipino Pork Belly (Lechon Kawali)

Chili-Honey Glazed Filipino Pork Belly (Lechon Kawali)
Category	Pork recipes
Difficulty

Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

A sweet-spicy oriental glaze gives fried pork belly a delicious kick and makes it a perfect match for crisp, cold beer. For a heftier meal, pair it with steamed rice and atchara. The effort and quality are worth it.

Ingredients

Glaze

• 2 tablespoons Korean hot pepper paste (gochujang)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 ½ tablespoon honey, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

Pork

• 1 kg pork belly
• 1 large white or red onion, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• ⅓ teaspoon peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 bay leaf
• Rock salt, for seasoning
• Pickled vegetables (atchara; optional)

Procedure

1. Put all glaze ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Purée to make a thick glaze. Set aside.
2. Slice pork belly in half to fit a large stockpot. Place pork, onion, garlic, peppercorns, salt, and bay leaf in the pot.
3. Fill pot with enough water to cover pork. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
4. Cook for about 1 hour or until pork is fork-tender.
5. Once pork belly is tender, transfer to a rack or hang the belly to dry for about an hour.
6. Slice pork into 2-inch pieces and season with rock salt.
7. Preheat an airfryer to 180º C for 5 minutes. Put half of the pork belly pieces in the airfryer's basket. Set timer to 10 minutes and let cook.
8. After 10 minutes, pull out the airfryer basket and turn the pork pieces to cook evenly. Continue cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes or until pork belly is crisp and golden. Repeat with the remaining pork belly.
9. Put cooked pork belly in a large bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of chili-honey glaze and toss to coat pork evenly. Add more, if desired.
10. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately with pickled vegetables, if desired.