Chicken wrapped in bacon

This is one of the staple dishes in my kitchen. I like to prepare these beforehand and keep them frozen and when I need to cook them, I just pop them straight from the freezer to the turbo broiler

Ingredients:
Boneless chicken breasts / thighs, sliced thinly
Bacon slices
Egg
Bread crumbs

Filling: Butter, parmesan cheese, parsley, salt & pepper (or garlic salt, for more flavor).

I usually just mix the ingredients for the filling and make "tantya". Spread the filling over the chicken slices, place a slice of bacon, and roll it up and stick a toothpick to allow the roll to retain its shape.

[edit: These days, I don't roll in breadcrumbs anymore but instead, we wrap the outside of the chicken roll with yet another slice of bacon and sort of tuck the end in to hold the roll in shape. This is way better than breadcrumbs].

Dip the roll in egg and roll in breadcrumbs and then, I just wrap them up in foil and freeze.

To cook, bake in 375 degree oven (turbo broiler) . Cooking time varies.

Lechon Kawali

I've seen a lot of different recipes, the most common way of preparation calls for pre-boiling the pork belly in broth - some recipes even recommend using beer - and then freezing the meat before frying or broiling.

My aunt does hers differently, she skips the boiling altogether and just seasons her meat with salt, pepper and a little sugar and broils it - skin side down first.

Personally, I've found that pre-boiling the meat in broth ensures that the meat is cooked all the way through so when I'm broiling the meat I only have to worry about the browning of the meat and crisping of the skin and not about whether or not it's still raw.

1. Boil the pork liempo in broth - any broth that you have on hand will do but I find that canned chicken broth is very convenient to use for this. I also reuse my broth a couple of times so after boiling, I let the remaining broth cool down and transfer it to the freezer in an airtight container.
2. It usually takes a few hours, depending on the thickness of the meat, before the pork liempo is cooked through.
3. When done, take out the meat and let it drip dry. You can place it on a colander, strainer, or a wire rack with a dish underneath to catch the drippings. Use a fork to poke holes through the skin, this will create the "bubbles" in the skin when you broil it.
4. Freeze the pork belly.
5. When you're ready to broil the pork belly, just take it straight from the freezer to the turbo broiler. Broil for around 50 minutes at 350 degrees, cooking time depends on the size of your pork. Start cooking your meat skin side down and then turn it to the other side halfway through the process.

You can serve your lechon kawali with Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce but my personal favorite is the all time pinoy mix of chopped onions, soy sauce and vinegar.

Liempo

We had broiled pork belly tonight and it was good! It smelled (and tasted) so good that it was all gone before we even thought of taking pictures.

Marinade (portions are estimates):
- 10 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (mushroom based)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- dash of Mc Cormick montreal steak seasoning
- 4 tbsp vinegar

1. Marinade pork belly in mixture for at least 1 hr.
2. Set the turbo broiler to 350F and cook until golden brown. You would have to turn the belly slices over halfway through the process to brown both sides. Depending on the thickness of the slices, this should take between 20 - 30 minutes.