Monday, November 9, 2009

Menu for the Week 003: Lechon Kawal with Mang Tomas Lechon Sauce

Yesterday, Sunday, I made Lechon Kawali (Pan-Roasted Pork) with Mang Tomas Lechon Sauce for our lunch.

A couple of weeks back we went food shopping at one of the Asian groceries that we used to go to in Little Ferry, NJ, called the HMart (which stands for Hanahreum = Han-Ah-Reum). They sell a lot of Asian goodies ranging from Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and a lot Korean goodies, etc.


(Note: Image was taken from HMart's website)
Their produce section is unbelievable they have a wide selection of vegetables and fruits specifically of Asian vegetables that you hardly see in regular groceries like Shop Rite or Stop N' Shop. They are also very affordable and you don't necessarily have to buy them in bulk which is one of the few things that I find annoying at some of the regular groceries.  Regular groceries usually sell produce in bulk and on sale and some of them are really not good anymore and sometimes its just too much to get for both Mr. L and I. Being that I am Filipino I prefer buying things "tingi-tingi" or "bit by bit" or in smaller quantities to make sure that everything that I prepare is fresh and doesn't go bad right away because I hate wasting food. Although buying in bulk is cheaper and is a norm for Americans, I prefer buying produce in smaller quantities only because I'm only preparing food for Mr. L and myself. Now buying in bulk for meat that are on sale is another story and I'm all for that lol.

(Note: Filipinos are known for buying items in "tingi-tingi" translation "bit by bit" or  "smaller quantities" like buying shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste, etc. in sachet form to make it more affordable and convenient for the less fortunate to get their basic necessities. So selling items in sachet form is really big in terms of marketing goods in the Philippines.)

Also, HMart has a lot of seafood selection like crabs and shrimps (take note that the shrimps shells and heads are still intact lol), etc. They also have a lot of Korean meat for Korean barbecues. They sell a lot of stuff but you just have to be vigilant to identify which meats are cheaper here vs. regular groceries but more often than not meat and seafood are definitely cheaper at HMart vs. regular groceries.

And so I saw some pork liempo, which I was going to use as a sahog for the pancit that I prepared on my birthday but they didn't sell them in a really really smaller quantity (lol) so I decided that I'll use most of them to make Lechon Kawali. The liempo though was thinly sliced so it kind of looked like thick bacon strips but it's all good because I think I got the whole thing for $5 which is very good.

So I decided to simmer the pork in a pot with water, salt and pepper and I added some garlic too because we have a lot of garlic and I wanted to use some of it before they go bad. After simmering it, I laid it on a cookie sheet wrapped with foil so I can bake it. One of my friends and college classmate, Sue Anne, recommeded that I bake my lechon kawali which I did. It's so much easier to do it that way.




After they were done baking, I chopped them off in pieces. Here's the result:

Lechon Kawali with Mang Tomas Sauce
Mr. L and I enjoyed it with white rice, some veggies and Mang Tomas Lechon Sauce (which is a must condiment for every Filipino household it goes well with everything: chicken, beef and pork, etc). It tastes so good yet it so bad for your health lol. This was definitely a perfect Sunday lunch.

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