Pinoy Fried Liempo (Pork Belly)

Don’t you just love liempo? Liempo (pork belly) spells heart attack (next to lechon, crispy pata…) but I must admit that this is the easiest and my most favourite part of the pig to cook.

When I cooked PINAKBET yesterday, I included some pork belly bits to replace the Bagnet in the dish. I also paired the vegetable viand with pan fried liempo for extra protein.

Thinly sliced, pork belly absorbs marinades and rubs easily. This is why fried pork belly is my go-to dish whenever I need a quick ulam especially for M’s packed lunches I prepare in the morning.

I also love the fact that I can easily infuse flavors to the liempo just by using soy sauce, tomato ketchup (or banana ketchup) and ground black pepper. These are very basic ingredients that are readily found in most Pinoy homes.

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Pinoy Fried Liempo (Pork Belly)

Ingredients:

Slices of Pork Belly/Liempo

Soy Sauce

Tomato Ketchup

Salt and Ground Black Pepper

How I did it:

Using a resealable bag like Ziploc, (which makes my marinating mess-free and easy to clean afterwards) I dumped the slices of pork belly. I sprinkled the ground black pepper, rubbed it in, then placed enough amount of tomato ketchup and soy sauce to cover the meat slices.

I sealed the bag and shook it a little to mix the liquid ingredients and cover the meat fully. When done. I opened the bag again to release the air then zipped it back carefully while pushing out the air.

Marinating may take just a quick 10 minutes or as long as overnight in the freezer. The longer you marinate the meat, the more that the meat absorbs the flavour --- just note that marinating on soy sauce for long will render your meat darker when cooked.

You may put the marinated pork belly directly to the heated pan with oil after you take it out from the fridge. I sprinkled salt on the liempo after I took it out of the resealable bag to add a little more flavour without drying out the meat.

Fry until cooked then serve over steamed rice and vegetables.

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 The fried pork belly is a perfect match to the pinakbet! It is so easy to prepare as it only needed just a few ingredients. Make sure to dab the excess oil from frying as the natural fat from the liempo itself is just too much for your healthy hearts. Teeheehee. =)

Xoxo,