Pork Belly Hamonado

Pork belly hamonado is a Filipino pork dish, made by simmering pork belly slices in a sauce made by pineapple juice, garlic, onion, pineapple slices,soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. It is a variation of the classic pork hamonado which usually uses pork shoulders and uses a giant slab of pork belly is simmered slowly in a sweet pineapple sauce, giving it the freshest pineapple flavor. This melt-in-your-mouth pork belly hamonado is a perfect partner to a big bowl of hot steaming rice.

PORK BELLY HAMONADO RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo pork belly slices (2 slabs)
• 5 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 1 ½ cup pineapple juice (unsweetened)
• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 to 3 cups water (adjust as needed)
• 1 can pineapple slices (or chunks)
• 2 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons oil (for sauteing)

Directions:

1. Wash and prepare the pork belly slabs. Make some criss cross slits on the skin and rub them with salt and pepper. Also season the other side.
2. Heat a pan and sear the pork slabs until golden brown in color (skin must be touching the pan). Flip occasionally to sear all sides. Once browned, set aside.
3. In the same pan, add a little oil. Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes.
4. Add the pork slabs back to the pan and then add the pineapple juice and soy sauce. Cover the pan and let this simmer for 15 minutes using medium heat.
5. After 15 minutes, flip the slabs to cook the other side evenly. Add some sugar to taste.
6. Pour around 2 to 3 cups of water to help cook the meat until it softens. Then, cover the pan again and let it simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until the pork is tender. Flip occasionally.
7. Baste the pork using the sauce. Add the pineapple slices (or chunks) in the sauce and above the pork slabs. Cover the pan and simmer for a few more minutes until the sauce is reduced. Continue basting the pork. Turn the heat off.
8. Arrange the pineapple slices on the serving plate. Place the pork belly slabs above them and drizzle some hamonado sauce on top. Enjoy this together with some hot steaming rice. Yum!

WHAT IS HAMONADO

Hamonado is a classic Filipino dish made using the meat of your choice, which is cooked in a sweet pineapple sauce. This dish is usually associated with Christmas, where people put a great budget to serve food. Since pork is more expensive than the other meats, serving pork on such occassion is considered special. If you have no ham in your table, serving some hamonado still counts. Now, hamonado can also be served during regular meals.

Aside from being a classic dish, hamonado is usually associated with the “ham”. As per its name, the term “hamonado” came from the term “jamonado” which means “prepared like ham”. A great observation would be that both the ham and the hamonado has something to do with pineapples– hamonado being braised in pineapple sauce and ham served with pineapple syrup.

PINEAPPLES IN HAM BUT NOT IN PIZZA?

Pineapple is an innocent fruit which is always involved in controversies when put into a pizza. Many people agree and disagree on whether there should be pineapple in pizza. If you analyze it, the sourness and sweetness of the pineapples can help balance the saltiness of the cheese and ham toppings in a pizza. (It’s a yes for me.)

Aside from being eaten as a fresh fruit, pineapples are usually made into sauces and syrups which you commonly see as a freebie inside a box of ham. There are a lot of sauces out there but why pineapple sauce?

Pineapple sauce of hams started as a glaze and now evolved into a drizzling sauce. The sweet and sour flavors together with its tanginess greatly complements the savoury and sweet flavor of the ham.

PORK BELLY HAMONADO

Pork belly hamonado is a much simpler dish if you wanna serve ham but you’re on a budget. The Christmas season is fast approaching and it is important to know hacks like this.

Instead of buying a ham, you can choose to make this recipe so you can control the flavor and can buy in smaller portions. The pork belly in this recipe is served as a slab of meat, but you can opt to slice them into smaller ones for better absorption of the sauce. Also, if you make some at home, you can also prepare a lot of pineapple sauce!

If you want to know how to make some pork belly hamonado at home, read and follow the simple steps below. Happy cooking!

HOW TO MAKE PORK BELLY HAMONADO

If you have tried making a hamonado dish before, then the following steps would be familiar to you.

Instead of slicing our pork belly, let’s cook it as a giant slab! Start by slicing some criss cross patterns on the skin to help it cook faster and absorb the seasonings for later. A simple salt and pepper rub will enhance the natural taste of the pork belly.

Then, sear the pork belly in a heated pan (no oil). Make the skin touch the pan on the first minutes of searing. Make sure that all sides are seared.

Saute the aromatics and then add the seared belly back to the pan. Start making the sauce by pouring the pineapple juice (you can also use crushed pineapple chunks), and soy sauce. Let this cook for a few minutes so that the pork can absorb the sour and salty flavors of the sauce. Flip the belly for a few times to cook all sides evenly. To imitate the sweet ham flavor, add some sugar to taste (you can also use honey).

Add water to the pan and let the pork simmer. Softening the giant slab of pork might take up to an hour of cooking, so just relax while cooking. Just remember to flip them occassionally to cook all sides evenly. After an hour of simmering, the sauce will be reduced and thick. You may now add the pineapple slices (or chunks).

Arrange them in a large tray. Layer a bed of pineapple slices before adding in the pork belly hamonado. Drizzle the sweet hamonado sauce over the meat before serving.

This pork belly hamonado can be served as the star of the table. You can make papak or have it with a lot of hot steaming rice. Yum!

COOKING TIPS

• If you want to intensify the pineapple flavor in the sauce, you can crush the pineapple chunks before adding them!      

Pork Belly Hamonado Recipe (TAGALOG)

Mga Sangkap:

• 1 kilo ng liempo (2 malalaking hiwa)
• 5 butil ng bawang (hiniwa)
• 1 malaking sibuyas  (hiniwa)
• 1 ½ tasa ng pineapple juice (unsweetened)
• ⅓ tasa ng toyo
• Asin at paminta
• 2 – 3 tasang tubig (dagdagan kung kailangan)
• 1 lata pineapple slices (o chunks)
• 2 kutsarang asukal
• 2 kutsaritang mantika (pang gisa)

Directions:

1. Hugasan at ihanda ang liempo. Hiwaan ito ng pa-cross at budburan ng asin at paminta. Gawin rin ito sa kabilang side.
2. Magpainit ng kawali (walang mantika) at lutuin ang karne hanggang maging golden brown (nasa ilalim dapat ang balat). Baliktarin ng ilang beses para maluto ang lahat ng sides. Kapag brown na, alisin sa kawali at isantabi.
3. Maglagay ng konting mantika sa parehong kawali. Ilagay ang sibuyas at bawang at gisahin ng ilang minuto.
4. Ibalik ang karne sa kawali saka ilagay ang pineapple juice at toyo. Takpan ang kawali at hayaan itong maluto ng 15 minuto gamit ang katamtamang apoy.
5. Pagkatapos ng 15 minuto, baliktarin ang karne para maluto ang kabilang side. Timplahan ng konting asukal.
6. Maglagay ng 2 – 3 tasa ng tubig para mas lumambot ang karne. Takpan ito ulit at lutuin ng 45 – 60 minuto. Baliktarin paminsan minsan.
7. Buhus-buhusan ng sauce ang karne. Ilagay ang pineapple slices (o chunks) sa sauce at sa ibabaw ng karne. Takpan ang kawali at lutuin pa hanggang lumapot ang sauce. Patayin ang apoy.
8. Iayos ang pineapple slices sa serving plate. Ipatong dito ang pork belly at buhusan ng hamonado sauce. Enjoyin ito kasama ng mainit na kanin. Yum!