Just Jen/Receitas Para Conectar/Filipino Kamayan Meal

Supplies

  • For the lechon:
  • 3 to 4 pounds pork belly, boneless
  • 6 cups water
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce, plus more for basting
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1 head of garlic, cloves separated but skin on
  • 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • Garlic rice:
  • 6 cups day-old cooked white rice
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt, to taste
  • Tomato onion salad:
  • 4 ripe tomatoes
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • Suka dipping sauce:
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 red and green bird's eye chilies, thinly sliced
  • Steamed veggies:
  • 1 pound Chinese broccoli, end of stalk trimmed
  • 1 pound green beans, trimmed
  • Salt, to taste
  • Grilled shrimp:
  • 2 pounds head-on, tail-on shrimp
  • Vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Banana leaves, thawed and wiped clean for the table

Passo a passo

  1. Prep the lechon: In a large pot, add water, pork belly, bay leaves, garlic, soy sauce and black pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender. Place cooked pork belly on a tray with a rack and pat dry. Allow to cool and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or best is done overnight.
  2. Cook the lechon: Slice the skin down the middle. Brush the pork belly all over with soy sauce, then rub coconut oil all over. Bake at 400 degrees until the skin is extremely crispy and crackly, about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size.
  3. Make the rice: Heat oil in a pan on medium-low. Add garlic and stir to cook until golden. Be careful not to burn it. Immediately add the rice and break it up. Stir everything well and season with salt. Set aside.
  4. Make the tomato salad: Slice the tomatoes in half and gently deseed. Roughly chop and place in a bowl. Cut the onion in half, thinly slice it, and add it to the bowl. Just before serving, toss with fish sauce.
  5. Make the suka: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
  6. Using a steamer basket or pot, steam the Chinese broccoli and green beans until bright green and tender. Season with salt.
  7. Make the shrimp: In a bowl, toss shrimp with oil, salt and pepper. Grill the shrimp on both sides, until bright red and opaque but not too firm, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  8. Prepare the banana leaves: Use a blow torch or stove fire to gently warm up the leaves to make them lay flat. Cover the entire table surface by overlapping the leaves.
  9. Slice the lechon into smaller pieces. Place a bed of garlic rice across the center of the table. Top with lechon slices, grilled shrimp and steamed veggies. Scatter tomato salad on some of the edges of rice. Place suka into smaller individual bowls for dipping.
  10. Use your hands for eating!