Some say that
chicharon (cracklings), among other things, gives Filipino cuisine a negative image abroad. Deep fried fat… guess, it can’t get worse than that. But, hey, chicharon is only a small part of Filipino cuisine. I must admit, however, that we Filipinos have perfected the art of chicharon making. It’s big business here because, yes Maria, chicharon is delicious. Dip it in vinegar with a little salt, some chopped onions, garlic and crushed chili pepper and you’re on to a wonderful gastronomic experience.
Few foods conjure up visions of lethal arterial blockage like chicharon, lechon skin and lechon kawali. All a variation of a porcine theme, the concept of taking the skin of a pig, chich1the immediate underlying thick layer or wiggly fat, several more layers of “meat” between more fat then frying this all up in even more fat is just too much! Or is it? Most Filipinos are “hard-wired” from birth to have a craving for chicharon, those spectacular pork cracklings or rind that the Spaniards probably introduced to us when they discovered all the great wild boar running around the rain forests of the archipelago.
