This is actually a recipe for lechon kawali made without using a kawali. The important thing in this case is to find a slab of pork belly that is thick enough, with just the right amount of fat striations running through it, and a nice smooth skin that will become nice and crisp. Most cuts of pork belly, if you can even find it in British supermarkets, are disgustingly lean and sometimes even have the skin taken off. This reminds me of stories about people who have never previously encountered a banana eating the skin and throwing away the inside. I found an old-fashioned butcher along North End Road in Fulham, a local butcher who knows his stuff and loves his meat. So to speak. I managed to obtain over a kilo’s worth of pork belly in a large square slab, a little bigger than a tournament chessboard, with a couple of vestigial nipples sticking out. After some consideration we decided to cook half of it rather than the whole, so I hacked at it for a cleaver for some time until finally resorting to a handsaw. I can tell you now the difference between a hack and a handsaw, no matter which way the wind is blowing.
Take the pork belly and encrust it with a thick layer of salt (I used Maldon sea crystals, but any rock salt will do); you will need about a cup. Shove the whole thing into a preheated oven at a medium heat (180 degrees with the convection fan on) and roast for about forty-five minutes. Take it out of the oven and move the rack up to a higher slot. Turn on the overhead grill function, or use a salamander if you have one. Scrape the salt crust off thoroughly and return to the oven and broil until the skin begins to bubble and pop and makes a hollow sound when tapped, about twenty minutes. Carve into bite-size pieces and serve with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, vinegar, a squeeze of lime juice, and thinly-chopped chillies. Serve with plenty of rice and coca-cola. Pair it with a salad of ripe tomatoes tossed with parsley and patis.
