Recipe by Chef Felipe Aponte
The “chicharrón” is a food that some countries around Latin America and other parts of the world cook, generally consisting of fried pork. You can also get chicharrón from other animals like cows, chicken, fish, and lamb, or from flour. The word “Chicharrón” has extended from the Spaniard cuisine all through countries with Spanish influence, to give meaning to the different ways to prepare it.
Cochabamba for example is a Bolivian city, located in their Cercado province in the center of the country. With a population of approximately 1,136,066 inhabitants, the city of Cochabamba is by excellence the place to eat a Chicharrón, on Saturdays and Sundays at local restaurants. The essence of a good Cerdito de Chochamba is the extended time it takes to prepare the pork, for about 5 to 6 hours.
Equipment
- Chafing Dish
- Cooking Pan
- Chopping BoardCooking Knife
- Cooking pot
- Kitchen Strainer
Ingredients
- Pork Belly
- Orange Juice
- Rice vinegar
- Thyme leaves
- Bay leaves
- Fresh rosemary
- Navel orange
- Garlic
- Black Peppery Grains
- Salt
- Sweet potato
- Tamarind paste
- Sugar cane in block
- Sweet corn
- Red onion
- Tomato
- Cilantro
- Cinnamon
- Lemongrass
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
Steps
1. Bake the Pork Belly
- Put the pork belly in a chafing dish or glass pyrex. Make a brine with orange juice, water, garlic cloves, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, whole black pepper, rice vinegar, and smoked essence.
- Cover the chafing dish or pyrex with aluminum foil and bake it in the oven for 1 hour in 180 grades. When you have it put the pork outside of the pyrex, wrapped with plastic and pressed with something heavy, let it rest in the fridge, when is completely cold cut in slices.
2. Bake the Sweet Potato
- Wash the sweet potatoes and marinate them with olive oil, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. Wrapped with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes at 180 grades.
- When done cut it into slices.
3. Make the Relish
- Make a pico de gallo with the tomatoes, cilantro, red onions, lemon juice, sweet corn, salt, and pepper, and add a little bit of olive oil.
4. Make the Tamarind Sauce
- Mix the tamarind paste with water, boil it with cinnamon, sugar cane, balsamic vinegar, lemongrass, and orange juice for 30 minutes approx. When all the ingredients are concentrated and the juice is thick strain the veggies and keep the tamarind reduction.
5. Make the Magic Happen
- Hit up the pan, fry the pork belly with soy oil. When it has a brown color add the tamarind reduction, seal the sweet potatoes in another pan with oil and add more salt and pepper.
6. Plate it!
- Put the sweet potatos slices as a kind of base on the plate, put the pork belly with the sauce on top, and garnish it with the sweet corn relish.