FAMOUS PINOY BREAKFAST

<b>CURIOUS ON HOW TO MAKE THE FAMOUS FILIPINO BREAKFAST? CHICKEN/PORK TOCINO

It is best known as a breakfast dish — served with garlic rice or white rice, and an egg. But you’ll also find it as a bar snack since it’s texture is similar to jerky. What is tocino?

This dish has many variations across the world (which we’ll explain further down below). In Spain, the word “tocino” means bacon, though it refers to the layer of fat under a pig’s skin. This Spanish version is often made from pork belly, then it’s salted and cubed. In the Caribbean, it’s diced, fried to a crisp, and then served with rice or mofongo.

Filipino tocino< ost often, you’ll see pork tocino being served as a Filipino breakfast. It will be paired with sinanag (“garlic fried rice”) and itlog (“fried egg”), under the name of tocilog, which describes the trifecta of all these foods. Tender, sweet cured pork with savory, garlicky rice that’s topped with a gooey egg is a tough combination to beat.

Although the dish is typically associated with breakfast, its similarity to jerky also makes it a fantastic bar snack. And it’s a beloved accompaniment to an ice cold San Miguel beer.

You’re likely to see it on a Filipino bar menu in the pulutan or finger food section. Pulatan (which is Tagalog for “pick up”) will see the meat served on a skewer, allowing you to easily pick it up, or eat while on the go. How is tocino made?

The process of making tocino typically involves marinating the meat in a mixture of soy sauce, salt, brown sugar (or white sugar), and vinegar. It’s then left overnight at room temperature to ferment. After one to three days, the cured meat then becomes more tender and takes on a red tone. Traditionally, Annatto seeds are added to deepen the red color and leave a peppery flavor. But many recipes now will call for red food coloring instead.

After the curing process, the meat is cooked in a wok over medium heat. This gives tocino its characteristic chewiness, drawing out the fat from within the meat, and allowing the brown sugar to give the meat its shiny caramelized coating.

Over the years, the recipe has become more simplified. Pampanga’s Best has their packaged version of tocino and there are other brands as well. For most of them, you would just cook the tocino in a pan with about a half-cup of water until most of the liquid evaporates. Many years ago, tocino meat had to be left outside to air dry for a day before being rubbed with ange tree bark for color.

These days, you’ll also find chefs in the U.S. adding inspired twists in the tocino marinade for subtly different flavors like garlic, pineapple juice, kiwi juice, or even soda.

PINOY BREAKFAST PHOTOS:

THESE ARE THE FAMOUS FILIPINO BREAKFAST🤤

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