Pork Entertaining Main

Crispy pork belly lechon

Name: Pork belly lechon recipe
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 dried bay leaves; 3 star anise, toasted; 1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted; 1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted; 1 tsp whole black peppercorns, toasted; 1 tsp whole white peppercorns, toasted; 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted; 2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves; 2 small onions, finely chopped; 20.00 ml malt vinegar; 20.00 ml light soy sauce; 20.00 ml Chinese rice wine (shaohsing); 20.00 ml brown sugar; 2kg boneless pork belly, skin on; Sliced red chillies, to serve; Steamed rice, to serve; Soy sauce, to serve; 1 small green papaya, cut into thin matchsticks; 1 small carrot, cut into thin matchsticks; 1 long red chilli, finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 40.00 ml caster sugar; 40.00 ml white vinegar; 40.00 ml lime juice

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by delicious. team

delicious. team

Nov 28, 2024

"What I love about this recipe is how versatile it is. It can go with many other things that you, or your family and friends, might cook. Typically, we Filipinos would enjoy this with spicy vinegar with soy sauce and some atchara (pickled green papaya), but it would also absolutely be awesome with a Western-style gravy!" - John Rivera

Recipe note: Begin this recipe at least a day ahead

This recipe is by John Rivera

2 dried bay leaves
3 star anise, toasted
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted
1 tsp whole black peppercorns, toasted
1 tsp whole white peppercorns, toasted
1/2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves
2 small onions, finely chopped
1 tbs malt vinegar
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs Chinese rice wine (shaohsing)
1 tbs brown sugar
2kg boneless pork belly, skin on
Sliced red chillies, to serve
Steamed rice, to serve
Soy sauce, to serve

Pickled green papaya

1 small green papaya, cut into thin matchsticks
1 small carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbs caster sugar
2 tbs white vinegar
2 tbs lime juice

Method

1.

Place bay leaves, spices and seeds in a spice grinder and coarsely grind. Place lemongrass, garlic, onion, vinegar, soy sauce, shaohsing and sugar in a food processor and whiz until combined. Season to taste.
2.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Pierce pork skin all over with a sharp paring knife or skewer – not too deep, just enough for the tip to go in (see notes). Flip pork over and score meat in a crosshatch pattern, about 1-1.5cm deep, lines about 3cm apart (see notes). Massage marinade into meat (not the skin), getting it into all the crevices. Place pork, skin-side up, onto prepared tray and leave in the fridge, uncovered, overnight (or, if time permits, 24 hours) to dry out the skin.
3.

To make pickled green papaya, place all ingredients in a bowl and, using your hands, mix well to combine. Cover and refrigerate until required.
4.

Preheat oven to 240C/220C fan-forced. Make 2 golf-ball sized balls of aluminium foil and put this under the middle of your pork belly. (You want the middle of the belly higher than the sides so the juices and fat drip off the sides instead of pooling in the middle.) Roast pork belly, rotating tray occasionally, for 40-45 minutes, until skin is golden and crispy. Rest for 15 minutes before carving.
5.

Serve with pickled green papaya, sliced red chillies, rice and soy sauce.

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Recipe Notes

Piercing the pork skin will help to render the fat out more evenly when roasting, but if you’ve not confident doing this, it’s not essential. When scoring the meat, depending on the thickness of the flesh, as a general rule of thumb, you want to slice one-third of the way into the thickness of the meat.