Sunday, January 13, 2013

Deep Fried pork belly - the crunchy winter relish

Do you like fatty food? Probably not. But if you take the fattiest part of the pig - its belly, and fry it in even more fat, you will get a crispy delish which is enjoyed in many countries placed thousand of miles away from each other. In Bulgaria the fatty chunks are called 'prujki', in Spain and Colombia - 'chicharrón', in Portugal - 'Torresmo'. 'Pork rind' in England or 'шкварки' in Russia, it is all the same. Here is the way I prepare this appetizer. And do not worry about calories - there is a whole stream into the diet science which calls for eating fat if you want to loose weight. So take a glas of wine or beer and enjoy it. 


Ingredients:
  • 2 lbs (1 kg) pork belly with skin
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • sunflowers oil for frying

Preparation:
Place pork belly on a flat working surface skin side down and cut into 1-inch (abouy 2,5 cm) cubes. Sprinkle with salt.
Put an inch of vegetable oil in a heavy bottom pan and on medium high heat. When the oil gets hot and starts to sizzle, add the pork cubes. Be careful while frying - it is normal some of the oil to sprinkle, so cover with a net lid to avoid burning of your skin.
Fry for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to enable frying from all sides. The white pork fat will turn golden and crispy. 
Dry on kitchen paper and serve hot. 


4 comments:

  1. Oh My! That do looks good!

    I'm a huge fan of pork belly and back in Singapore where I came from, we uses a lot of lard and pork fat to flavour food. Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with fat as long as it is consumed in moderation. Like you say, a little bit of fat is good for you.

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    1. Yes, I also like fat in certain amounts ;) And I also like very much the Singapore food - I was in your country years ago and I still remember the crabs, the ice cream and many other dishes ... you have fancy restaurants and very tasty cuisine, I even liked the durian!

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