TBJ KITCHEN: How to make the crispiest Lechon Kawali of your life


I love Lechon Kawali and I love it more when it's crispy AF and the crunch sound would explode in my mouth. Lechon Kawali in restaurants is expensive and usually sold as a set meal. Bummer.

I recreated this famous Filipino dish at home; I am so satisfied with the result and most of all, the crispiness! Here's how to make the crispiest, restaurant- style Lechon Kawali at home!



Ingredients:

1/4 Lechon belly, good for 3 people (not the strips; request the cut intended for deep fry Lechon Kawali)
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. fish sauce (patis)
2 packs of whole black pepper
4-5 bay leaves (laurel)
1 garlic bulb cut in half
Cooking oil

Prepare the lechon belly. Make sure it has an ample amount of fat and meat. I also like piercing the meat to facilitate even cooking.

Pre-heat water in a pot. When water is finally boiling, add fish sauce, bay leaves, garlic, pepper, and lechon belly. Boil everything for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take out the meat and air dry for 15 minutes or until it is cool. I also tried the thinly- sliced Lechon Kawali for this recipe for comparison and realized that whole lechon belly is better for deep frying.

TIP: For out of this world crispiness, pre- cook the meat and refrigerate the meat overnight before frying.

After you either air dry or refrigerate the meat, salt it all over.

Pre- heat cooking oil in a deep- frying pan. Make sure it's piping hot before dunking the meat.

While waiting for the oil to heat up, prepare the sauce. I like my Lechon Kawali with vinegar with chopped garlic and pepper. I also like it with Mang Tomas and Atchara.

Time for the main event. Slowly put the meat into the piping hot cooking oil. Be extra careful when dealing with hot oil and most especially at the first few minutes of frying because the oil will pop like crazy! Fry for 30 minutes. 5 minutes before frying time ends, turn up the heat to get that lovely golden brown color. 

If you're cooking more than one slab, fry in batches to ensure that each slab is properly cooked.

After 30 minutes, transfer the meat to a chopping board. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Don't worry, it won't turn chewy; the whole process of cooking ensured that this Lechon Kawali will stay crispy for a long time. In fact, it even gets crispier as it cools!

Use a meat cleaver for easier slicing. Take a look at the golden outside and juicy inside; this is a nicely- cooked lechon belly; be sure to stick with the 30 minute frying time to avoid overcooking and ending up with dry, burnt meat.

Serve with hot white rice. Enjoy!

Sky's the limit! Have all the amount of lechon kawali that you want without worrying about restaurant bill shock with this recipe! Tag me at @thebeautyjunkee on Instagram and my Facebook fan page (The Beauty Junkee) if you try this recipe! ;)

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14 Comments

  1. This looks so sumptuous, Ms. Martha! I've been starting to cook lately. This has got to be in my To-Cook List! I never knew that pre-cooking's one of the main keys for making crispy lechon kawali. Thanks for the tips. A lot of the other cooking websites I've check don't really provide as much information regarding some techniques which you mentioned in this post. This recipe's perfect for this season since chicken out of the cooking option these days :( I'll try and pair this up with Mang Tomas plus a side of some mixed veggies! Thanks for this, Ms. Martha! Drooling rn. Looks so yummy! YUMMERZ HAHAHA

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  2. Yehey! Finally, may mga recipes na. Ang sarap naman niyan. Madali lang pala siya! will try soon.

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  3. Yes! Thank you po for sharing that recipe! Paborito namin yan!! Grabe nakakatakam naman!! 😍😍😍😍

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  4. Natakam na nman ako sa Lechon Kawali mo Ms. Martha! perfect ang luto! 👍👍👍 ccccrunch! I wanna try it sometime. 😊

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  5. that looks crispy AF. yep. i'm hungry now.

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  6. Grab! I love lechon kawali too, ang sarap nyan. Nagugutom ako sa pagtitig sa kanya hahahahaha 😂 Ang sarap mabuhay kasama ka kasi marunong ka magluto ate martha! 😊

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  7. Wow, this is a great addition to the Beauty Junkee! Cool! Looking forward to this!!

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  8. waah super nagutom ako sis nung nakita ko to sa iyong ig account tingin pa lang halatang napakasarap na 😋👍

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  9. Woah Kitang Kita ang crispiness! Vlog po Sana ng more of this with hubby hihihi

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  10. Yay! I don't eat pork na but that looks delish Ms.M. More recipes pa po please and sana cooking vids na din po next time. 😊😊

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  11. Looks so good! Please share more recipes. Love it!:)

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  12. Looks so good! Please share more recipes. Love it!:)

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  13. Drooling right now after reading and seeing those pics. Haist! Sherep isawsaw sa suka at may kasama pang mainit na kanin..enebeyen Ms. M! Lol. Most of the times hubby ko nagluluto. Now, I know how to thanks for sharing!

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Let me know what you think of this post! :)