Roast Pork Belly

Before we had our trusty and user-friendly turbo broiler, our pork bellies in the freezer just end up as sad and oily fried bellies (Lechong Kawali), and take note, we had to shield ourselves from all the tilamsik everytime we fry them. The process of frying pork bellies involves a lot of screaming (out of fear because of the tilamsik) and bunong-braso with the pork. It's really one tough guy.

But one day, Super Turbo came to the rescue and saved as from the nights of sad and oily fried pork bellies. I've been searching through internet articles regarding the best roast pork belly rub for quite a long time now, not knowing that I'll find the perfect concoction in our very own kitchen. And the person responsible for this? Mi Mama! Mama's really a great cook. She got it from her dad. Kei and I got our cooking skills from her. Mama doesn't need those measuring cups and spoons. She once told me that all you've got to do to come up with a perfect dish is feel it. It's all about the instinct.

Mama's Roast Pork Belly recipe never fails to fill my growling tummy. Her recipe being really really flexible is a plus factor. You can have it really spicy or you can just have it mild. Since I was the one who cooked for dinner, I opted to have it mild. But if it's my sister who made it, I know she'd go for the Oh-God-it's-freaking-hot flavor. Another thing that's really good about Super Turbo is that it cooks the meat inside and out but still, it's crispy on the outside but juicy and tender on the inside. The Roast Pork Belly goes well with the famous and Pinoy na Pinoy na Mang Tomas (The All-Around Sarsa). But Kei ate it with a new dip, the THAI CHILI SAUCE!!!! It was so so so so so hot that I did not even have the guts to try it. But my aunt did and she said it's too spicy. Our maid even tried it and at first taste, it looked like she was stunned by something or what. It was truly maanghang.

The dish was really tasty. The combination of garlic and chili gives the meat its character. It's as if it has two sides. It has that strong flavor at first but when you start chewing the meat, you'll taste the juiciness and tenderness of the pork. Yummy!

As I said, Mama's recipe is really flexible so I altered the amount some of the ingredients depending on my taste.

Before slicing the Roast Pork Belly


Mr. Belly meets Mang Tomas


Perfect combination

Mama's Roast Pork Belly

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg. pork belly
• olive oil
• salt
  
• ground black pepper
• garlic powder
• chili powder
• cayenne pepper
• Maggi Magic Sarap

Drizzle olive oil on both sides of the meat. Rub some salt and ground black pepper on it. Then, sprinkle it with garlic powder, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Lastly, rub some Maggi Magic Sarap on the belly. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes.
Roast in the turbo broiler for 20 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius. After 20 mins., turn up the other side of the belly and prick the meat with a small knife then, roast for another 10 minutes.
Serve with Mang Tomas! XD