Author Notes: Every Christmas Eve, I make a big batch of pancit, adobo, and roast pork belly with very crispy chicharon, adapted from an Angela Dimayuga recipe. Christmas morning is for leftovers: I take any remaining pork and make sisig with it, alongside garlic fried rice and eggs. It’s the best breakfast ever, and a reminder of the fish sauce–laden dishes my brother Forrester and I grew up eating. And I know it isn’t traditional sisig, per se. Traditional sisig is made with pork face and ears and chicken liver that’s boiled, grilled, then cooked with aromatics. This is not that sisig. This is the Filipino-American version I make for my family every Christmas to celebrate our new life here in New York. —Amelia Rampe
Food52 Review: Featured in: A Dish to Remember My Brother on Christmas. —The Editors
Serves: 4
Prep time: 8 hrs
Cook time: 2 hrs 20 min
Ingredients
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Kosher salt
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3
pounds pork belly, skin on
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Canola oil
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1
small onion
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4
scallions, whites roughly chopped, greens thinly sliced, divided
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6
cloves garlic, very finely chopped
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1
(1-inch) piece ginger, very finely chopped
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2
red chiles (such as Fresno, Holland, or Thai), 1 finely chopped, 1 thinly sliced, divided
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2
tablespoons lemon juice
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2
tablespoons rice vinegar
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2
tablespoons fish sauce
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2
tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos
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Freshly ground black pepper
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4
large eggs
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Lime wedges, for serving
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Steamed rice or garlic fried rice, for serving
Directions
- Season pork belly generously with salt and place skin side up on a wire rack inside a baking sheet. Chill, uncovered at least 8 hours or up to 48.
- Heat oven to 350°F. Rub oil over pork skin and season with salt. Place sheet tray in oven and add 4 cups of water into the base of the tray. Roast until skin is golden brown and internal temperature is 195°F, about 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Add more water to sheet tray if pan juices begin to scorch. Raise oven temperature to 450°F and roast until pork skin is deep golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes more.
- Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest, 20 minutes. Slide a paring knife under the skin, parallel to the surface. Remove the skin and reserve on a plate. Chop the remaining pork into roughly 1/4-inch pieces.
- Heat 1 Tbsp. oil a medium cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped pork and cook, tossing, until some fat has rendered and pork edges are beginning to crisp. Pour excess fat out leaving a couple tablespoons in the pan. Lower heat to medium and add onion, scallion whites, garlic, ginger, and chili and cook until softened and fragrant, about 2 more minutes.
- Combine lemon juice, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and soy sauce in a small bowl and add to the pan. Cook, stirring until pork is evenly coated and the liquid has completely evaporated. Continue to cook pork until the edges are very crispy all over. Taste and adjust seasoning with lemon juice, vinegar, fish and/or soy sauce. Season with black pepper.
- Using the back of a spoon, make 4 spaces to place your eggs. Crack eggs into the spaces and place pan into the oven to cook until desired egg doneness, e.g. 5 to 7 minutes for over easy. Chop crispy pork skin into large chunks. Top with scallion greens, sliced chilies, and pieces of crispy pork skin. Serve with rice or garlic fried rice and lime wedges.
Photo by Ty Mecham