Tocino Recipe

YOUR SHOPPING LIST:

 Pork Shoulder

 Rice Wine Vinegar

 Fruit Juice (Pineapple or Orange)

 Rice Wine Vinegar or any vinegar (coconut, apple cider)

 Red food color

IN THE PANTRY:

 Sugar

 Garlic

 Salt

 Soy Sauce

 Ground Pepper

INGREDIENTS

   2 pounds Pork shoulder, cut in 1/4 inch thickness

  MARINADE

  1 tablespoon kosher or table salt, dissolved in 1/4 cup water

  3/4 cup Sugar

  1/2 head of Garlic, minced

  2 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar

  1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

  1/4 cup Fruit Juice (Pineapple or Orange)

  1/2 teaspoon Red food color

  1 tablespoon Ground Pepper

  1/4 cup Vinegar (optional - to add before frying)

  Cooking Oil for frying

1. Mix together the marinade and dissolve the sugar completely.

2. Pour the marinade and knead it into the meat to completely absorb.

3. Cover and leave inside the refrigerator to cure for 2 - 3 days.

4. When ready to cook, mix in the vinegar, then drain excess liquid.

5. Fry in cooking oil using medium heat.

6. Serve with garlic fried rice, Sunny-side up Egg, and a side dip of vinegar and chili pepper or slices of tomatoes.

TIPS 

Try to cure inside the refrigerator instead of room temperature for food safety. Meats that cure outside refrigeration usually use Curing Salt or Saltpeter (Salitre).

No fruit juice available? If you have any orange fruit lying around, squeeze out the juice to get the required amount the recipe calls for.

I add more vinegar in the end to mimic the tangy cured meat taste. Just a personal preference.

If you use a tough kind of meat, use the back side of the knife to pound the meat after slicing to separate the grains and make the meat tender.

Boiling the meat in water before frying could make the Tocino lose its sticky, sweet glaze that you get from directly frying.