LECHON KAWALI FILIPINO RECIPE HOW TO COOK TUTORIAL

While Litson (or Lechon) Baboy refers to the whole roasted pig that is served for fiestas and special occasions, Litson Kawali is an everyday dish that Filipinos love to cook and eat. The pork is first simmered for twenty minutes and then it is flash-fried in oil to give it a crunch.

Sometimes, I’ll fry it the day before I serve it and then fry it one more time just before it’s served to make it even crunchier. It’s the Lechon Sauce that makes this dish a Filipino favorite.

Place the pork and water in a large saucepan, bring to a boil. Add the garlic, bay leaf, pepper and salt and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until the meat is done. Drain the pork and discard the water and discard the water. Pat the pork dry with paper towels, and cut into serving pieces.

Heat a small saucepan or wok over high heat and add the oil. Use a wooden chopstick or skewer to check if the oil is hot enough. When it’s hot enough, bubbles will form all around the stick. (Or use a deep-fryer thermometer to read the temperature, which should be between 350° and 375°F or 175° and 190°C when ready.)

Reduce the heat to medium once it reaches the desired temperature so that the oil doesn’t burn. Add a couple of pieces of pork at a time and deep-fry until brown and crispy. Do not overcrowd the pan. Blisters should appear on the skin. Remove the pork and drain on paper towels.

To make the Lechon Sauce, heat a saucepan or skillet over medium heat and add the oil and garlic. Sauté the garlic until lightly browned. Add the Liver Paste, sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, salt and pepper and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Serve the pork with the Lechon Sauce and hot steamed rice.

Serves 4 to 6 
Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes

2 lbs (1 kg) pork belly (or “side pork”) or shoulder, preferably with skin on
8 cups (2 liters) water
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of knife
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (500 ml) oil, for deep-frying
Lechon Sauce (Makes about 1 1/2 cups/375 ml)
1 cup (200 g) Liver Paste (page 23)
1 tablespoon oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of knife and minced
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons Filipino cane vinegar (or white vinegar or cider vinegar diluted with water, page 13)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

SULTANATE OF SULU - A FILIPINO MATTERS TRIBUTE BASIC INFORMATION

Sultanate of Sulu - Bastion of Filipino Muslim resistance against foreign rule

The Sultanate of Sulu, also called the Sultanate of Jolo, is one of the most powerful pre-colonial states in Southeast Asia. At its zenith, it has control over almost all islands from the southwestern tip of Zamboanga Peninsula to the islands farther south reaching Borneo and the island of Palawan to the north.

By aiding the Sultanate of Brunei in suppressing a rebellion, the Sultanate of Sulu received Sabah (North Borneo) and Palawan, as royal gifts. This is the rationale behind the Philippine claim to Sabah, as successor of the Sultanate of Sulu, which it maintained was illegally annexed by Malaysia in 1963 while still technically and legally under lease from the Sultanate.

Accounts have it that the Sultanate was founded by Shari’ful Hashem Syed Abu Bakr, an Arab born in Johore who arrived in Sulu from Malacca in 1450. He claimed to be a descendant of the Saudi House of Hashemite in Hadramaut.

This accounts for the belief by many Tausugs (natives of Sulu) and Yakans (natives of Basilan) that they were descendants of Mohammad through Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr married Param Isuli, a daughter of Raja Baguinda, the ruler of the island and by 1457 established the Sulu Sultanate.

The Sulu Sultanate was the most powerful and organized government in pre-Hispanic Philippines. Its merchant ships maintained commercial ties with Malacca and other sultanates and kingdoms in the region well before the coming of the white men. British, Dutch and German ships had called on the islands of Sulu to barter their goods for mother-of-pearls, tortoise shells and provisions for their naval explorations.

The Sulu Sultanate had long resisted Spanish rule and during Spain’s 300 years of colonizing the Philippines, they remained largely independent. During the centuries-old Moro Wars, the Sultanate devised a well-organized resistance, with Moro warriors conducting daring raids on Spanish fortifications in Visayas and Luzon.

Indeed, in the Sulu Sultanate, Spain encountered one of the greatest challengers to its imperial might.
The Royal Sultanate of Sulu is housed in Astana Putih (“White Palace” in Tausug).

It is located in Indanan, a town not far from Jolo. It is one of the lasting testaments to the greatness that was the Sulu Sultanate- a center of the colorful Filipino Muslim culture and home to a proud, brave and freedom loving people of the South Seas.

BATANES TOURIST DESTINATION SERIES - HOW TO GET TO BATANES

Batanes - Treasure of the North.

Almost 100km off the northern coast of Luzon, BATANES is the smallest, most isolated province in the country. This is a memorable place with otherworldly scenery, where doors are rarely locked and welcomes are warm even by Filipino standards.

The people are different, the language is different, even the weather is different. The coolest months (Dec–Feb) can get chilly with temperatures as low as 10°C, while the hottest months (April–June) are searing. For visitors, the islands are at their best from February to May.

Batanes can be idyllic, but it would be wrong to portray it as a tropical utopia as the realities of life this far away from the rest of the world can sometimes be harsh. Petrol and provisions are brought in by ship, which means they cost more, and when typhoons roar in from the east ( July–Sept) it may be impossible for ships or aircraft to reach the islands.

Boredom can set in and locals joke that during the typhoon season the cargo ship brings 50,000 sacks of rice but 60,000 crates of gin.

Only three of the ten islands in the Batanes group are inhabited: Batan – the location of the capital Basco – Sabtang and Itbayat. The native inhabitants of Batanes, the Ivatan, trace their roots to prehistoric Formosan immigrants and latter-day Spanish conquistadors.

Most still make a living from the cultivation of yams and garlic or the raising of goats and cows; if you visit a village during the daytime, be prepared to find that almost everyone is out in the fields. Some women still wear rain capes called vakul, made from the stripped leaves of the voyavoy vine.

The main dialect, Ivatan, includes some pidgin Spanish: “thank you” is dios mamajes and “goodbye” is dios mavidin (if you are the person leaving) or dios machivan (if you are staying behind).

Getting to Batanes
The quickest way to get to Batanes from Manila is on the SEAIR thrice-weekly flight from Manila to Basco. Book well in advance. Unfortunately, the flights are regularly cancelled at short notice so there’s a good chance that you won’t depart on the day for which you have a ticket; you should allow for at least three or four days either side, or more if bad weather is likely.

There’s also a chance that your check-in luggage will not be taken on your flight but instead brought along at a later date. It’s a measure of the appeal of Batanes that it genuinely is worth the hassle.

An alternative – albeit one which also suffers cancellations due to poor weather – is to take a small twin-engine aircraft from Tuguegarao to Basco. Scheduled flights are usually operated by Batanes Airlines (T0915/940-4823 or 0939/198- 6918), but at the time of writing they had been suspended. It was unclear when they would resume.