Pork Nilaga Recipe

This easy Pork Nilaga recipe is so quick to make it only needs 3 steps. Just simmer together pork belly chunks in water and some salt, mixing in ginger, onion, and peppercorn to season. Then adding in yellow corn, a pork broth cube, fish sauce, potatoes, bananas, cabbage, and pechay to finish. This perfect hearty cold weather dish will surely soothe your soul.

Pork Nilaga Recipe :

Ingredients :

• 1 kilo pork belly chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups rice water ( or plain water )
• 2 thumb-sized ginger ( chopped )
• 1 medium onion ( sliced )
• 2 teaspoons whole peppercorn
• 2 pieces yellow corn ( halved or sliced into 3 )
• 1 piece pork broth cube
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 medium potatoes ( chopped )
• 2 large bananas ( saba )
• 200 grams cabbage ( chopped )
• 1 bunch pechay

Steps :

1. In a pan, place in pork belly, salt, rice water or regular water. Cover and simmer for 10 – 20 minutes. Skim out the impurities halfway. 

2. Add ginger, onion, peppercorn, corn, and pork broth cube. Cover and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes or until the pork is tender. Give it a taste. Add fish sauce to taste.

3. Add in potatoes and bananas. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender. Mix in the cabbages and pechay. Cook for a few minutes. Just until the leaves wilt.

4. Serve.

Nilaga vs Bulalo

Both are similar within the many healthy Filipino soup recipes. Both are easily versatile, making it easy to add or remove certain ingredients like leafy vegetables or replacing meats. But the biggest difference is that Bulalo is a dish that focuses on beef as it’s main meat, adding in the marrow, shanks, and tendons. Seasoned with patis ( fish sauce ) and or salt, pepper, ginger, with spring onions or cabbages as its usual vegetable companion. While for Nilaga, it usually boils chunks of meat for longer periods of time, using beef, pork, or chicken, seldomly using the bonier parts of meat. Nilaga also uses a good amount of vegetables like onions, cabbages, pehcay, leeks, potatoes, and even carrots.

Nilagang Baboy with Mais Recipe

Also known as “Pork Nilaga with Corn”, this deliciously rich and flavorful stew will surely warm you up during the colder months, and heal you inside out when you feel sick. A protein packed meal that is made by simmering the pork belly chunks with salt, regular water or rice water- the reason some dishes include using rice water is because of its starch content. The starch helps thicken the stew slightly as well as adds to the depth of flavor giving it a slightly silky texture. Once it starts simmering, you’ll notice a bit of scum or dirt floating around, you’ll need to remove these to keep the stew’s taste clean. Once there aren’t any more scum, add finger, onion, and peppercorn. This helps remove any of the foul smells or tastes that may still linger. Then add in corn for a subtle sweetness and vibrant color, and a pork broth cube for more flavor. Cover and simmer for a few more minutes until the pork feels tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork. Give it a taste and add some fish sauce if it lacks saltiness and tang. Add the potatoes and bananas to help add starch and make the dish fuller. Once cooked, add in the leafy vegetables like cabbages and pechay, cooking these just for a few minutes until the leaves look darker and a bit wilted before serving.

Questions

• Pork nilaga calories

A serving of this dish can have around 300 calories.

• Other meats

Aside from using pork belly chunks for this Pork Belly Nilaga recipe, you can also use other parts of the pork as well as other meats like : 

• Nilagang Pata ng Baboy ( Pork Pata Nilaga Recipe ) – uses the “Pork Pata” or “Pork Hock” which is filled with collagen, has a gelatinous texture, and is often tender and succulent, with a rich flavor.
• Nilagang baboy ribs – for those who want a bit of bones added as the bones usually have the most flavor and bones are where you can find a good amount of collagen in.
• Nilagang Buto Buto ng baboy ( or “Pork Buto Buto Nilaga recipe” ) – is a dish made mostly of a mix of pork bones with a little bit of meat in it like pork ribs, pork neck, spine joints, marrow, and any bone part chopped into medium sized pieces. These are often the most flavorful parts.
• For an even more affordable version compared to the one above, try “Pork Neck Bone Nilaga Recipe“.
• For other meats you can find people replacing the pork with chicken for a “Chicken Nilaga recipe” which uses a whole chicken chopped into parts or specific parts of the chicken like the leg, breast, thigh. These should be cooked just until tender. Or when you pierce the chicken with a fork or knife, the juices should run clear NOT pink.
• Traditionally if you search for ‘Nilaga’ you’ll find more recipes calling for beef as its main meat. For the “Beef Nilaga recipe” depending on how big the cut is might take a bit longer to simmer. From 30 minutes to 1 hour or until you can easily pierce this with a fork or knife.
• If you want to combine meats. Try “Nilagang Baboy at Manok” which combines pork and chicken. Make sure to cook the pork first before adding the chicken to avoid the chicken from being overcooked.

• Additional ingredients

Aside from adding other leafy vegetables like chili leaves, spinach, or starchy ingredients like yams, potatoes, and carrots. A popular inclusion is ‘sitaw’ or ‘string beans’ to make “Nilagang Baboy with Sitaw”, another fruitier and fibrous version is “Nilagang Baboy with Langka” ( also called “Pork Nilaga with Langka recipe” ) which adds ‘langka’ or ‘jackfruit’ into the soup in replacement of the bananas.

Try our other Yummy Filipino Pork Recipes :

• Sinigang na Baboy ( Pork Sinigang )
• Filipino-style Pork Barbeque  
• Pork Sisig
• Pork Hamonado ( Pork braised in a savory soy pineapple sauce )
• Inihaw na Liempo ( Grilled Pork Belly )  

Pork Nilaga Resipi ( Tagalog ) :

Mga Sangkap :

• 1 kilo pork belly na hiniwa
• 1 kutsaritang asin
• 5 tasa ng tubig bigas ( o regular na tubig )
• 2 daliring luya ( hiniwa )
• 1 sibuyas ( hiniwa )
• 2 kutsaritang buong paminta
• 2 piraso dilaw na mais ( hiniwa sa 2 o 3 )
• 1 piraso pork broth cube
• 1 kutsarang patis
• 2 patatas ( hiniwa )
• 2 malaking saba na saging
• 200 gramo repolyo ( hiniwa )
• 1 bungkos pechay

Paano Lutuin :

1. Sa kawali, ilagay dito ang pork belly kasama ng asin, at tubig bigas. Takpan ang pakuluin ng 10 – 20 minuto. I-skim ang mga dumi na lumulutang.
2. Ihalo dito ang luya, sibuyas, paminta, mais, at pork broth cube. Takpan at pakuluan ng 15 – 20 minuto o hanggang lumambot ang baboy. Tikman at haluan ng patis panlasa.
3. Ihalo dito ang patatas at saging. Takpan at lutuin hanggang lumambot ang mga patatas. Haluan ng repolyo at pechay. Lutuin ng ilang minuto o hanggang lumanta ang mga dahon.
4. Ihanda habang mainit pa.