Kare-Kare with Lechon Kawali

Next, add in enough water to cover the pork belly.

Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on medium to medium-high heat until pork belly is fork tender. Approximately 30-40 minutes.

Once pork belly is done, remove it from the pot and set on a drying rack. Save broth and set aside.

Pat dry with paper towels. Using multiple toothpicks or a fork, poke pork belly skin multiple times.

Add enough salt to lightly cover the skin, then place in the refrigerator to cool for about 1-2 hours.

While the pork belly is drying I like to prepare the veggies and sauce ahead of time.

For the eggplant (2–3), fry in a wok or skillet with vegetable oil (2 Tbsp) until soft.

For long beans (1 small bunch) and bok choy (6–12), bring to a boil until soft, then throw into an ice bath to preserve color and stop the cooking. If you want to knot or braid the beans, do it after it has cooled down as it is more pliable and won't break as easily. You can also cut the bok choy in half, if desired.

Filter reserved broth from when you boiled the pork belly. You need 3.5 cups so if there is not enough broth, you can substitute with your broth of choice. For example, I had 2.5 cups of pork broth from the pork belly. I then subbed the last 1 cup with store-bought chicken broth. Alternatively, you can just use 3.5 cups of store bought broth and not have to deal with filtering.

Add broth (3 ½ cups), peanut butter (¾ cup), annatto powder (1 ½ Tbsp), and bagoong (½–1 Tbsp) in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low. Add salt and pepper ( to taste). Make any adjustments at this time to your liking.

Next, add toasted rice powder (2 Tbsp) (or if using cornstarch, mix it with 2 tablespoons of water before adding to the sauce). Simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until sauce thickens up.

Remove pork from refrigerator. Remove excess salt. Pat dry once more to ensure all moisture is removed as best as possible.

Heat oil (2–3 cups) in a wok or pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry pork belly for 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy. To get the skin extra crispy you can sprinkle ice-cold water onto it and continue to fry. You will hear it crackle, I definitely have the lid handy to prevent splattering everywhere.

Remove from oil and transfer to a drying rack or paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil.

Let cool and then slice into 1 inch thick pieces.

Plate as desired! I like to put the sauce at the bottom, then layer eggplant, long beans, bok choy, and crispy pork belly on top. Serve with white rice and a side of bagoong.