#KusinaNiKayne: Lechon Belly

*** * ***

Hello there Creatives!

It took us sometime to decide on what to prepare for Noche Buena this year. But as I browse Youtube, I got some Christmas food suggestions and this one rings a bell! So I convinced Kokobear to do this. Luckily, he said yes! :)

We had this, Japchae, Laing and Fruit salad! <3

So, without further ado, here’s my first try and (pretty much happy with it) LECHON BELLY! :)

You will need:

3-4 kilos of pork belly (slab)
15-20 pieces of garlic
1 big onion
6-9 pieces/sticks of lemongrass
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup of lemon juice
salt and pepper
oil
Optional (additional herbs/spices: star anise, rosemary, thyme etc.)

Rubbing – Salt & pepper (optional garlic powder)

Marinade – Lemonsito juice (Lemon juice/vinegar will do) + soy sauce.

How to prepare it:

Pre-heat oven at 180 degrees.
Rub the mixed salt and pepper all over the pork belly.
Marinade the pork belly for at least an hour. The longer the better.
Arrange the spices: onions, garlic and pounded lemongrass in the middle of the slab.
Roll it using a kitchen twine to secure the rolled pork belly.
Add the remaining spices that didn’t fit in the slab into the roaster. Pour 1 at least 1.5L water.
Arrange the rolled pork belly over the roasting pan. Every hour, adjust the temperature into 5 or 10 degrees higher. Cooking time usually takes at least 4 hours.
On every hour, have a roast bath (oil + soysauce) on it’s skin.
Feel free to adjust or flip the sides of the pork belly.
Once ready, set it aside, let it cool a bit.
Create your favorite sauce and it’s ready to serve! :)