Lechon kawali or Pan-roasted pork to some is different from Lechon, the well known Filipino dish which is also the national dish of the Philippines. While lechon is cooked in a pit filled with flamed charcoal, Lechon kawali is cooked by boiling then later deep frying a portion of the pig (pork belly usually) .
Little is known about the history of this dish. I just got acquanted with it during my high school days at Benedictine Abbey School (now its San Beda College, Alabang). I can clearly remember how the aroma of this dish fills the whole ERV canteen and also the long line that I need to pass just to order Lechon kawali. As I grew up, I learned that this can also be a good pulutan(appetizer) and is best complimented by the traditional lechon sauce or spicy vinegar.
Try this sumptuous Filipino pork recipe : Lechon Kawali.

Recipe: Lechon Kawali
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork belly
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp whole pepper corn
- 5 pcs dried bay leaves
- 3 cups cooking Oil
- 34 ounces Water
Watch the cooking video:
Cooking Procedure
- Place the water on a big cooking pot and bring to a boil
- Put-in the pork belly then add 1 tbsp of salt, pepper, and bay leaves and simmer for 30 minutes or until meat is tender
- Remove the meat from the pot and let it cool down for a few minutes
- Spread 1 tbsp of salt on the meat, make sure to distribute it evenly on all sections
- We now need to deep fry the meat. On a dry cooking pot place the cooking oil and heat it up
- When the oil is hot enough, put the meat in the cooking pot and let it cook until the immersed side is brown and the meat’s texture is crispy
- Flip the meat to cook the opposite side
- Remove the meat from the pan, let it cool down a little then slice according to desired portions
- Serve hot. Share and Enjoy!
Number of servings (yield): 6
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kakagutom naman…thanks!
sarap naman…lagi ko kacng di makuha ang luto nito…salamat
OMG. This lechon kawali makes my taste buds crazy…
naku tnx 4 sharing tlga kuya i try ko nga mgluto nyan kc paborito yan ng asawa ko…
salamat sa tip sa pagluluto kaibigan mabuhay ka!!!
Hello
Thanks a lot for sharing your talent sa Pagluluto.. Sana hindi ka magsasawa..Marami kang napapasayang tao sa pamamagitan nito..
God bless u more
I’m about to make this for dinner. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Gracias,
-From San Diego
By the way, is there an english version of your video? =)
hi kuya,thnx sa tichnicque mo s lechon kawali,favorite ko e2,gwa ako tom.thnx!
Hi! I would love to try this but not into fried foods. Can you give me tips on how to cook this using the oven? Thanks
i use a convection oven or turbo broiler. after boiling the pork at 160-170 deg., place it in the oven for 30 minutes on each side. the side with the skin you can broil last until crisp.
hi! kuya salamat sa recepie niyo ang sarap tlaga ng luto niyo. thank you
hay po grabe nagutom ako heheehe try ko po ito salamat po sana ho gumawa pakayo ng maraming recipes
I like lechon kawali to share with my family & friends, I tried so many recipes from deep frying, to baking, to even consider catering it in by professionals… but NO MORE!!! This recipe is the REAL… REAL DEAL!!! no one’s believin’ me that I didn’t cater the party… LOL…
I’m hooked on your website now and my husband too!!!

May be the chef has to have reference links to weight loss websites for those people that cannot stop trying all the recipes on this website… like me
Mabuhay po kayo!
wow sarap nito, salamat sa receipe, paano naman po ba ang pagluto ng CRISPY PATA..
thanks for sharing and more power !
GOd BLess..
kuya,. pde bng dagdagan ng cilantro ung paglalagaan nung baboy?
Hi Kuya,
Thanks sa mga recipes nyo…tom is my bday..and lahat ng lulutuin ko would be coming from your shared recipes..
Sana…you won’t stop sharing your talent with us.
Keep up the good work!
And more power to you!.
Jill
I’m making this when my pinay friends are coming over. We’re planning to have a lunch date at my house so try ko ito. Thanks Vanjo for this simple recipe.
You’re welcome Claire. Invited din ba kami
?
pano namn yung sauce nya kuya?sana pati paggawa ng sauce isinabay mona para completo ang recipe!salamat!
oi! taga bene ka rin pala…ive been a fan of this site…great recipes! simple lng….wat if i dont have lechon left over can i do it form scratch?
Dondi, lechon kawali needs raw ingredients. Is this question intended for the lechon paksiw? If so, try making lechon kawali first . If there are left overs, make lechon paksiw out of them. Hope this helps.
Hi! im also from bene…batch 94… i will try this recipe today..thanks for uploading!=)
maraming salamat po. dahil sa inyo natoto akong magluto. morepower po god bless.
You can cook lechon kawali in the over or turbo broiler. For 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of liempo, preheat the over for 475F. place liempo in the roasting pan skin side up and roast for 20 min and reduce to 400F for 40-45 min or until skin is crispy. Turbo broiler is 475F for 30 minutes or until the desired crispiness.
I tried the lechon kawali. I boiled the pork belly as instructed.
But I did not rub the belly with salt prior to deep frying.
After frying, the skin is not crispy. It’s chewy. Any advised?
Thanks
Try to add more cooking time until its crispy. One method that I do is placing some ice cubes in the hot oil to speed the process but I won’t recommend it if you are new to this stuff.
well that is simple try to put in first the broiled liempo into the freezer at least over night…then the next day deep fry the pork..you will see the difference
Ever since I (or actually my husband) discovered your website…I spent a whole day copying your recipes that I can try out. Thanks. This is very helpful. Now I can add variety to my cooking!
Hi kuya,1 mo ako sa mga fans mo kasi mahilig din ako magluto.kaya lagi ako nananod nang mga video mo.galing mo kasi magluto your the best
I love your website! I can’t wait to try more of your delicious recipes. I know this is a Filipino recipe site, but I wish your videos were in English so that those of us that are neither Filipino, nor good cooks can watch the videos and create wonderful dishes right along with you! Thank you so much for sharing.
Salamat po for sharing your recipes. I tried other recipes you posted here and my mom loved them. Today, I’m cooking Lechon kawali; I know how to cook it,pero I don’t put bay leaves and pepper. I’ll try to cook your Lechon kawali recipe; I guess masarap din kakalabasan nito. Salamat po uli.
Thanks for all the tips that I’m learning from Panlasang Pinoy…pag nagluluto naman ako ng lechon kawali, clean the meat then rub ng salt & pepper; boil water, more salt, vinegar & garlic; cook the meat until tender, let it cool and cook the meat using the turbo until the skin is crispy.
The rest of the meat, I use it for Sisig chopping the meat and season with calamansi, patis, diced pickled chili, chopped onion & green onion…hmmm, it tastes soo good that my daughter who’s so picky with Filipino foods loved it..
galing mo talaga mag paliwanag,thx maluluto ko n rin gusto ko, hahaha
galing, dami ko gustong lutuin, salamat sayo
Hello Kababayan. Graceful ka sa mga pagluluto at naeenjoy ko lagi ang panunuod dahil sobra kang clear magpaliwanag. Marami na rin akong mga recipes na tinulad sa mga videos mo at masarap din amg naging results ng mga pagluluto ko so thanks Kuya.
Tin from Stockholm Sweden
Thanks sa Panlasang Pinoy..sa inyo ako natutuong magluto…nga pala, si pareng Teacher dito sa Panlasang Pinoy, bakit di man lang nagpapakita sa camera..Bosing, kailangan mo ng exposure minsan..hehe. Goodluck!
ang sarap po ng kinalabasan ng niluto kong lechon kawali.
thanks po sa pag share ng recipe na ito.
It helped me a lot.
More power to you
thanks po sa pag share ng mga recipe po ninyo kuya ang saraaap!!!!!
anong difference pg may bawang or sibuyas pag ibboil? may nakita kasi ako na binoil may kasamang garlic, meron namang binoil may kasamang onion. thanks
Hi,I’m going to try this lechon kawali on my B-Day,cause this is my son fab,I’m going to surprise him, thank you very much,
Adding onion and garlic during boiling procedure gives more aroma to the pork. Sarap! Thanks for helping me a lot with my dishes. My wife is loving the food I am serving for her and I owe it to you Sir. Thanks!
I didn’t know you were from San Beda Alabang! I’ve been referencing to your website for some recipes ever since I moved here to the US! I’ve been craving for lechon kawali for some time now, and I think I’ll have that tomorrow for lunch after church. I’m from San Beda Alabang also
HI Vanjo! I went to Bene too (loyalty awardee both gradeshcool & highschool!) & I miss the canteen food! I’m from batch 89 (same as the son’s owner of ERV canteen). More power to your site! I’ve been getting recipes here since last year. Although, my lechon kawali is boiled then oven grilled – less oily but same crispiness!
you helped me a lot! i love to cook but had little knowledge until i happened to open panlasang pinoy.
Hi tanong ko lang po, ano po bang oil gamit nyo dito? Ganda kasi ng pagkakacrisp ng pork skin sa video. Sana ganun din maachieve ko pagnagluto ako. Thanks po more power!
Of course, just be careful when you’re frying the pork. My mom always manages to burn her skin with hot oil as it splatters. Sighs. No one makes lechon kawali better than mom, eh?
I hate cooking until I found this brilliant website which gradually aroused my interest.Many thanks.
HI,thanks a lot to your video tutorial,it really helps,mabuhay po kayo.
magluto din ako nito sometimes, i been looking for recepi for long time, glad nakita ko panlasang pinoy marami na akong matutunang pilipino dish, salamat po, and more power.
Thanks keroro. Salamat sa pagbisita, sana makita kita dito palagi.
Ann, thanks for your appreciation. Don’t worry, nandito lang ako basta nandyan kayo lagi.
Hi Benz, not as of this moment. Though I’m currently working to add English subtitles to all the videos but it is still in progress.
you’re welcome ellaine. Thanks for commenting