Crispy lechon belly is becoming a staple in most Philippine get-togethers and celebrations. In place of whole pig, people now settle for roasted Filipino-style porchetta because of its extra crispy skin and tender, juicy and aromatic meat.

This easy-to-make lechon belly is slow roasted in the oven for a couple of hours to ensure a super crunchy skin and moist meat. It’s liberally stuffed with lemongrass stalks to further infuse flavor and add bulk to the rolled belly.

“It’s best that you choose a good pork belly slab from your reliable or trusted butcher from the supermarket,” says celebrity chef and culinary instructor Zhe Jacinto. “Just have the butcher remove the rib part for you.”

It’s also best to marinate the meat for a long period in the refrigerator prior to roasting the pork belly.

“The secret here is to let the mixture in the pork stay overnight so that the meat can absorb the flavor better and make the skin really crunchy and crispy,” adds Jacinto, who’s also chair of the Culinary Team Pilipinas.

You can serve the pork belly with store-bought liver sauce or you can mix together vinegar with soy sauce, chopped onions and garlic, chilies and calamansi juice.

Crispy Lechon Belly

2 k pork belly

1 head garlic, chopped

6 pc red chilies, finely chopped

50 g fresh lemongrass stalks, chopped

½ c soy sauce

5 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp brown sugar

Calamansi juice

Rock salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Kitchen twine

Lemongrass leaves

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