... with the help from the Instant Pot!
One of my absolute FAVORITE Filipino snacks. I can never say no to crispy fried pork belly. Since I have an Instant Pot, I use that to prep the pork in seasoned liquid, but you can totally use the stove if you don't have one. Air-drying the meat in the fridge before frying is also the key to mega-crispiness! A word of warning though about oil splatter galore. If you don't have a deep fryer, you're going to want to use a large pot/Dutch oven -- something with much higher sides than a skillet for frying these, as well as having a splatter guard handy. It can get quite messy, but it's so worth it.
Ingredients
3 lbs pork belly, skin on, cut into 3-inch pieces
3 cups water
1 Tbsp sea salt
1 whole head garlic, slice in half
1 tsp whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Canola oil
More salt for sprinkling
Vinegar and/or Mang Tomas, for dipping
Directions
The day before:
Place all of the ingredients up through the bay leaves into the Instant Pot. Cook for 15 minutes at high pressure, and allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes before flipping the valve to release the remaining pressure. Transfer the pork to a rack and pat dry. Refrigerate, uncovered, for one day.
If you do not have an Instant Pot, place the pork, garlic, and seasonings in a large pot and pour in enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil and gently simmer for one hour. Transfer the pork to a rack and pat dry. Allow to air dry in the refrigerator per the instructions above.
The day of:
Heat one inch of oil in a Dutch oven until it reaches 350°F. Meanwhile, score the skin in 1-inch squares, just until you reach the meat (don't slice all the way through). Keeping the meat intact in the larger pieces will allow for more efficient frying, but scoring it this way will make it easier to slice into pieces after frying.
Working in batches, carefully add the pork, skin side down and fry until golden and crispy, about 2 minutes. Flip the pork over and fry for another minute or two. Transfer to a cutting board. Repeat until all of the pork belly has been fried.
Slice the pork belly into 1-inch pieces, using the score marks as a guide. Immediately season with a few generous pinches of salt. Serve warm with vinegar and/or Mang Tomas All-Purpose sauce. For this, my vinegar of choice is Datu Puti brand "sukang maasim", which I like to season with some chopped fresh garlic and a few scrunches of black pepper.
Leftovers can be reheated in an oven until warm, or in an air fryer for 8 minutes at 400°F.
Visuals
Combine the pork, garlic, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves into the Instant Pot with 3 cups of water. Cook for 15 minutes on high pressure. Allow for 10 minutes of natural release before flipping the valve to release the rest of the pressure.
This is the salt I use when I make Kalua Pig in the Instant Pot, so I like to use it for this recipe as well.
Transfer the meat to a rack and pat dry. Allow to air dry in the refrigerator for one day.
The day of, preheat your oil. Score the skin of the pork belly into 1-inch increments, just until you reach the meat.
Fry the meat, in batches, skin side down until golden and crispy (about 2 minutes), then turn and fry another minute or two.
Using the score marks as a guide, slice the meat all the way through. Serve warm with seasoned vinegar and/or lechon sauce. Enjoy!!
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