Lechon Kawali

Filipino Lechon Kawali is a dish that satisfies on so many levels. Not only do you get incredibly crispy pork belly, its topped with a refreshing topping of diced tomatoes, onions, and green onions that are tossed in a tangy and savory sauce.

Traditional Lechon is an entire pig that is roasted, whereas lechon kawali is made by simmering a slab of pork belly until tender before frying it in a “kawali” (pan) until the skin becomes incredibly crispy.

I like using an air fryer instead of deep frying because it is an easy way to get beautifully crisp pork belly while avoiding cleaning an entire pot full of hot oil.

Ingredients

2 pounds pork belly

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

4–5 cloves garlic, smashed

2 bay leaves

Water, enough to cover the pork

½ cup diced red onion

½ cup diced tomato

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

1-2 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

Sliced thai chilis

2 stalks sliced green onions

1. Put the pork belly in a large pot. Add the garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook partially covered for 45-60 minutes, until the pork is fork-tender but still holds together.

2. Remove the pork and let it drain in a strainer for 15-30 minutes. Pat it VERY dry.

3. Poke the skin with a fork and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place the pork skin-side up in your air fryer. Air fry at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Increase to 425 for another 3-5 minutes. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

4. Whisk together the fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and chili peppers. Add the tomato and onion and fold over in sauce.

5. Chop the pork belly into bite sized pieces and drizzle over with tomato and onion mixture. Garnish with sliced green onions.

The air fryer gets the pork belly beautifully crunchy