UFC | Ann's Filipino Food Diary

There was one time where I was in a cooking frenzy trying to get ready for family and friends to visit. As a new friend with a kid was part of the group, I had the foresight to ask what her son liked and she said “anything crispy”. Lechon Kawali immediately came to mind. Honestly, I never cooked Lechon Kawali before this particular get-together. I have always been too scared of the deep-frying part as it could very well scar you for life as the hot oil could just make a spectacular splatter. Whenever I craved it, I always just go to my good friend Diona, who cooks it so well at Kanto. But then feeling the shame of loving the dish but not knowing to cook it, I then thought, “how hard could it be?” Whenever I ask that question, I tend to get more than I bargained for. Well maybe it is time for me to learn the dish I could never get tired of.

So I took out all my cookbooks and researched on different recipes of Lechon Kawali. There were so many different versions and tips that I only selected the flavours I liked. I even went as far as watching YouTube videos on how to handle the deep frying part and neat tricks on how to make sure the crispiness of the skin. And I have them all compiled in here. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

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Lechon Kawali
1 kg pork belly, preferably pre-cut into 3″x 3″ squares
1/2 cup Marca Pina Soy Sauce or Silver Swan Soy Sauce Soy Sauce
2 cups Sprite
3 cups water (add more to keep pork belly squares immersed)
1 tbsp whole black pepper corns
1 medium onion, chopped roughly in big cubes
3 cloves garlic
3 bay leaves
3 tbsp salt, for flavouring after rendering out the fat.
Cooking oil, enough to immerse the pork belly squares after rendering out the fat.

Pre-cooking the pork belly to tenderize the meat
1. Combine the pork belly squares, soy sauce, Sprite, water, black peppercorns, onions, garlic and bay leaves in a big cooking pot. Boil pork belly for 1 1/2 hr or until skin is tender with a nudge of the fork and appears translucent.
2. Dry pork belly squares on a rack and pat with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
3. Rub boiled pork belly with iodized salt, evenly covering all surface to ensure a well-seasoned pork belly.
4. Store in freezer overnight to dry out the pork belly squares.

Deep-frying the meat
1. Pull out from the freezer an hour before frying and leave to thaw. The pork belly square might still be cold to touch but should not be frozen solid.
2. Heat oil on a deep pan with oil deep enough to immerse pork belly squares. When the oil is hot enough, place the meat in the deep pan. WORD OF CAUTION: This might get caustic and start splattering. Glove pot holders comes handy to protect your hand from oil splatters as you place the pork belly squares into the hot oil.
3. Partially cover the pan with a cover and weigh it down with a ceramic bowl to ensure that sudden splattering would not push the cover off the pan. Covering the pan can help cook the inside of the meat without drying it off.
4. Deep fry for about 10 – 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the pork belly.
5. Once the skin starts to blister and crispiness sets in, remove the pork belly square from the pan, let it cool down on rack for about 15 minutes. Don’t slice prematurely. Letting it sit after frying helps with the crispiness of the skin.
6. Serve with Mang Tomas All-around Sarsa or UFC Banana Ketchup and pair with steamed rice.

This is such a guilty pleasure and is so labor-intensive and I savoured every bite. Do you now understand why I never attempted to cook it before and just opt to get it from Kanto?

Lumpia has always been a go-to-bring-to-potluck thing for me. I find that it is something that is friendly enough for Filipino food first timers to try. Most people, despite not seeing what is inside the spring roll pastry, still pick one up very easily. I think it is the very nature that it is mostly 2 – 3 bites that even the most pensive person doesn’t give it too much thought and most first timers try it when they see it.

Back in Manila, we have several varieties of lumpia. There is the most popular Lumpiang Shanghai which comes deep-fried with meat filling, pork being the most common recipe that pairs well with a sweet and sour chili sauce or Filipino UFC or Jufran banana ketchup. There is Lumpiang Gulay which comes deep-fried too and is filled with a medley of carrots, beans, bean sprouts, onions and garlic that is in turn paired with vinegar tempered with onions, salt and garlic. There is a third kind which is called Lumpiang Sariwa where the wrap resembles an unsweetened crepe with an all-veggie filling of carrots, beans, jicama (singkamas) and lettuce and would be generously drenched in a peanut-garlic thick sauce. My most favourite of them all is Lumpiang Shanghai as every warm crunch leaves me with instant gratification that what I had on my hand was very good Filipino eats.

My personal recipe always changes as I tend to wrap whatever I have on hand in my fridge at the time that I crave it. I tend to fashion the lumpia filling to whoever I intend to enjoy it. I have good combinations of vegetables for different proteins, always minding that there would be an experience of different textures, flavours that work well together.

Lumpiang Shanghai Original Recipe
1/2 kg ground pork
1 medium carrot, minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp pepper
Canola oil for deep frying
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Chicken Lumpiang Shanghai Recipe
1/2 kg ground chicken
1/2 cup minced red bell pepper
1 medium carrot, minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp pepper
Canola oil for deep frying
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Shrimp Lumpiang Shanghai Recipe
250 g peeled fresh shrimps, chopped into small pieces
250 g rice vermicelli or bihon, softened in warm water and drained
1 medium carrot, minced
1 medium chayote (sayote), minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp pepper
Canola oil for deep frying

Mix the chosen recipe in a medium size bowl. Before wrapping the filling, it is best to let the mixture sit in the fridge for 30 min (or freezer for 10 min if you are in a hurry) to be able to handle the wrapping better. All three recipes tend to be watery as you mix it and chilling the mixture would considerably dry up the mix and would be easier to wrap.

Lumpia wrappers can be found easily on the Asian food aisle in Toronto. They come in different sizes and it is dependent on you how much pieces you make by the thickness that you wish to have. I tend to prefer making small Lumpiang Shanghai, preferring the smallest size. The brand that I always see in groceries is TYG Spring Roll Pastry (click here to see the brand). Make sure to handle gently when separating the pastry and to cover the separated sheets with a clean dish towel. Long exposure to air tends to harden the pastry. I generally separate 10 pieces at a time and cover it with the towel, wrap the filling and then separate wrappers again.

To wrap the chilled filling, take a spring roll pastry and position it in diamond orientation. Place about a teaspoonful on one end and fold the lower edge away from you, making sure the fold snuggly secures the filling. Take the left and the right sides and fold. The spring roll should be able to turn and wrap itself with the wrapper about 3 times over. This would ensure that the spring roll would not unravel as it is being fried. Chill the spring rolls for about 30 min before frying to avoid moisture from spattering in the hot oil. Heat the cooking oil to 350F in a shallow pan enough to submerge the spring rolls. Fry the lumpia for 10 minutes and drain in paper towels after.

It is always best to eat when it is freshly just been fried. Nothing beats the taste of freshly fried lumpia. Try to imagine me, eating 2 or 3 spring rolls for each batch that I fry. I have no willpower not to enjoy it.

Do try my little nuggets of happiness. I guarantee it would always be a crowd pleaser.

Just a little tip: If you want a good pairing of sweet and sour sauce that would go well with the Lumpia, try this President’s Choice Taste of Thailand. It’s the closest in taste to Filipino lumpia dipping sauce.