Ofcourse, tocino is actually cured pork (or bacon in spanish) but since it is not available here in Beijing, I made some alterations to my pork asado (originally roasted pork in Spanish) recipe and the end result… the taste of authentic tocino & some guys would probably wonder where I bought it.
Ingredients:
450 g. of pork rump or butt (can be pork chops, but I like them with fat, helps keep the meat moist & tastes a lot better; but for whatever reasons you are watching ur fat intake, you can always use pure lean meat)
For the marinade:
1/2 c. of dark soy sauce
2 tbsp. of oyster sauce
2 tbsp. of vinegar
2 tbsp. of finely minced garlic
2 tbsp. of onion, finely chopped
1 small tomato (in place of 1/4 c. of catsup, I ran out of it)
4 tbsp. of sugar
1/2 tbsp. of crushed peppercorns
salt
a dash of MSG or Monosodium glutamate (u may wanna omit this but heck, I do know there’s a difference when u add this to most of asian dishes)
Cut the pork into thin slices (about 1/8in thick). (I’ve read in some blog that semi-freezing the meat before cutting will make the job a lot easier.) . Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the pork meat. Mix in the marinade well with the meat using your hands. Cover and let stand for at least an hour, mixing the meat every few minutes or so to let the pork pieces marinate evenly.
Place it in a casserole and pour in water just enough to cover the meat. When boiling, stir a few times. Continue boiling until the pork starts to render fat. Continue cooking until quite dry and the pork is lightly browned. Add water, a little at a time, if the liquid dries up before the pork is cooked.
We still have some left-over rice so I decided to make some “sinangag” or fried rice using the sauce left from cooking the tocino. Very simple – turn up the heat, stir the rice, until it’s thoroughly heated. Golden brown garlic is the actually secret to the aroma of delicious fried rice but I was too lazy today I didn’t prepare some. Anyways, the tocino turns up to be really delicious the missing garlic flavor in my fried rice wasn’t noticed at all.
Happy and successful cooking doesn’t rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life. – Georges Blanc
Is this pork tocino, pork asado or pork adobo? Just asking
this is ‘my pork tocino’ cos anybody who tries it wud guess it’s the normal tocino everybody buys anywhere back home. pork adobo is different… it has vinegar as a main ingredient, definitely w/o catsup or tomato & tastes differently. unless some guys cook it the way i do w/ my tocino.
Oh my! Tocino from scratch! Thanks for sharing this… must try
youre recipes are all great i tried the ticino recipe it was yummy ..its my favourite
hi joey! i hope by this time u have already tried my version of tocino. Arenjoy, im glad u tried it & liked it.
i googled for a homemade tocino recipe and it brought me to your site. I’m going to try your recipe, i’m just waiting for the meat to thaw. My daughter can’t wait to eat her fave food na. Thanks!
you’re from beijing? i’m in beijing too!
very nice recipe’s i hope i can be able to make it…Yummy!!!