Tag: appetizer
Filipino-Style Grilled Pork Belly
Filipino-Style Grilled Pork Belly
Filipinos love their pork belly. You typically will see it either braised in some sort of way or fried, such as lechon kawali. But did you know that you can grill pork belly? Grilled pork belly is marinated in a calamansi juice base with lots of garlic and chilies, if you’re looking for spice. The marinade is saved and reduced down with oyster sauce to be used to baste the belly. The belly is then grilled for a couple minutes a side. Once there is a sear, you can start basting each side with the reduced marinade. It takes about 15 minutes in total to grill. If you don’t have a grill, you can prepare the pork belly under the broiler the exact same way. The pork belly is served with a vinegar based dipping sauce to help cut through all of the richness.
Ingredients
- 1 lb skin on pork belly sliced 1/2” thick
- 1/4 cup calamansi juice
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Thai chili finely minced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp white onion finely minced
- 1 Thai chili pepper finely minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Mix all of the dipping sauce ingredients together. Refrigerate until ready for use.
- Mix together the calamansi juice, fish sauce, garlic, chilies, brown sugar, salt, and black pepper.
- Marinate the pork belly for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Save the marinade once the pork belly is finished basking in its juices.
- Place the marinade in a pot over medium high heat. Simmer for 10 minutes until it is reduced.
- Mix in the oyster sauce and set aside.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the pork belly on a rack on a baking pan lined in foil.
- Broil or grill the pork belly for 3-4 minutes a side.
- Brush the top side of the pork belly with the reduced marinade. Broil or grill for 3 minutes. Flip over, baste, and broil or grill for 3 more minutes.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Carne en Palito
Carne en Palito
Carne en palito literally translates to meat on a stick. They can be eaten as an appetizer made on small wooden skewers or as a main course on larger metal skewers. The meat only needs 2 hours of marinating time and 8 minutes in the broiler. Serve the skewers with tomato onion curtido, fried plantains, and cassava cheese bread.
Equipment
- metal skewers
Ingredients
- 1 lb top sirloin sliced 1/4” thick strips
- 4 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp achiote paste
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Mix together the marinade ingredients.
- Marinate the beef for 2 hours.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Skewer up the beef. Place the skewers on a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Broil the skewers for 3-4 minutes a side.
Soupy Lamb Dumplings
Soupy Lamb Dumplings
These dumplings are something special. Ground lamb is mixed with carrots, zucchini, and green onion, then stuffed into dumpling wrappers. Since zucchini has a lot of moisture, it creates a flavorful broth inside the dumpling. So don’t squeeze out the water from the zucchini. The dumplings can be steamed, boiled, or even pan fried. The dumpling sauce is simply black vinegar with chili oil added.
Equipment
- bamboo steamer
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 4 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 1/4 tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder
- 2 cups carrot finely grated
- 1 cup zucchini finely grated
- 1 cup green onion finely chopped
- 80 dumpling wrappers
Dumpling Sauce
- black vinegar
- chili oil
Instructions
- Mix together the lamb, cooking wine, soy sauces, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorn powder.
- Mix in the carrots, zucchini, and green onions.
- Place a large tsp of the lamb filling in the center of a dumpling wrapper.
- Wet your fingers, fold over the wrapper, and crimp the edges. At this point, your can have your dumplings potsticker shaped, or…
- Bring the edges up to the center and twist the top.
- Place all the dumplings on a sheet pan lined in parchment paper. Freeze down what you don’t plan on cooking and store in a freezer bag.
- Bring a pot of water to a rapid boil. Place a steamer basket over the top. Line the basket with parchment paper. Place the dumpling in the steamer.
- Steam the dumplings for 20 minutes.
