Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly (Lechon Kawali)
Lechon Kawali is a classic Filipino dish that is typically fried pork belly that’s crispy and melts in your mouth. This recipe is a less-greasy version which is cooked in the Air Fryer and tastes just like the real deal. So crunchy you can’t even tell it’s not deep fried.
Cooking Lechon Kawali usually consists of two steps. First, the pork is boiled until tender in classic Filipino spices such as onion, garlic, black pepper, bay leaf and salt. Most of these you probably already have in your pantry. Once rested and dried, the second step is ‘frying’ the cooked pork until crispy.
Lechon Kawali is Mang Tomas (a sweet and tangy Filipino sauce) or spiced vinegar with a side of hot stemed rice.
If you surprisingly have leftovers, Lechon Kawali can easily be reheated in the airfryer for a few minutes before eating.
Air Fryer Crispy Pork Belly (Lechon Kawali)
Ingredients
- 500-600 g Pork Belly
- 2 pcs Bay Leaves
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Peppercorns
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 1 chicken bouillon or 1tsp knorr chicken power optional
- 4 Cups
- Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup Vinegar Datu Puti or any filipino brand
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce Datu Puti or any filipino brand
- 1 shallot or 1/2 Red Onion finely diced
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper optional
- 1 birds eye chilli optional
- Pepper to taste
- Sugar 1 tsp – to taste
Instructions
- Add pork, bay leaves, garlic, salt and pepper in water, enough to cover the pork
- Boil it for 20 minutes or until meat is tender.
- Remove the meat from the pot and pat dry with a paper towel
- Poke the meat with a meat tenderiser or if you don’t have one, just use a fork.
- Place in an airtight container lined with paper towels. Cool it down for at least 30 minutes or keep in the fridge for few hours to overnight or so)
- Bring to room temperature. Lightly coat the skin with vinegar and then season with salt.
- Pre-heat Air Fryer for 10 mins. Set the temperature to 200 degrees celsius and set a timer for 30 minutes
- Check the meat halfway through at 15 minutes to check it’s cooking alright and not burning. Resume the cooking.
- After 30 minutes is done, check if the skin is crunchy enough. If not, cook for another 20 minutes or so for extra crunchiness.
- Once you’re happy with the crunchiness, serve!
Notes
- Don’t boil the pork belly for too long otherwise the meat will dry out. Remember, it will finish cooking in the airfryer.
- Lightly coating the skin with vinegar before seasoning with the salt helps tighten the skin of the pork belly. This will help you to achieve a crispier texture when you air-fry.
- Dipping sauce also goes well with any filipino bbq meat