Name: Easy Pork Belly Sisig
Prep time: PT-24H40M
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: PT-484026H7M21S
Cuisine: asian
Ingredients: 2 lbs pork belly slices; 3 tbsp Annatto Oil (optional); 1 stalk lemongrass (white part only); half of the red onion minced; 2 smashed garlic cloves; 1 tbsp sweetener (white sugar); 1/4 cup vinegar (Datu Puti brand); 1/4 cup soy sauce; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 3 tbsp vinegar (Datu Puti brand); 3 tbsp soy sauce; half red onion minced; 1 egg; 1 tbsp red onion minced; green onion; birds eye chili; lime

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Pork belly sisig is hands down my favorite Filipino food of all time. The salty, sour and spicy make the best combination of flavor. If you have never had pork belly sisig, you are missing out!

Most pork sisig recipes add liver and mayo, but since I'm not a fan of those ingredients, I've created my own version that is just as delicious, if not better. The key to making sizzling pork sisig is to let the pork belly cook until it is nice and crispy. When you are frying it, make sure to get a good char on the outside.

I like to eat pork belly sisig as a main dish with white rice and a sunny side-up egg. The yolk from the egg adds an extra layer of creaminess and richness that takes this dish over the top.

If you want to really impress your family and friends, make this dish for them because I guarantee they will love it!

My hero, the late Anthony Bourdain, says that this dish is "The One"

Sisig is Tony's favorite Filipino street food and I can see why. Trust him on this.

"It's hot, sizzling, crispy, sticky, delicious bits of pork with many textures," Bourdain says. "It's exactly what you need after a few beers and that's a perfect food."

What is sisig?

Sisig is a Filipino street food that is typically made with different pig parts such as pig's ears, head, brains, etc. It has been reinvented by the Sisig Queen, Aling Lucing or Lucia Cunanan, from Pampanga, the Culinary Capital of the Philippines, as a pork dish that can be enjoyed by everyone.

This famous Kapampangan dish became so popular that it is now served in restaurants all over the Philippines and even in some parts of the world. Any pork sisig recipe has to be sour, salty, spicy, and a little sweet for balance, and it is best paired with a cold beer and a side of rice.

Making traditional sisig can take days, but this version of sisig has all the flavor components to make everything in a few hours. The hours are the marinating process, so you will not be slaving in the kitchen all day. I got you!

This Filipino food can be whatever you want it to be. You can make it vegetarian using tofu and vegetables or even chicken sisig, squid sisig, or tuna sisig. As long as you have the flavors down, the world of sisig is yours for the taking.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Pork belly - It would make your life easier if you buy precut slices of pork belly which are already smaller pieces. Traditionally, pork sisig is made from whole pork face, pig brains, pork head, or pig ears. It was a way for people to not waste any meat and use the whole animal.
In this recipe, we are using pork belly. I have made this with pork shoulder in the past and that will work as well. You can add organ meat if you want.

Annatto oil (optional but highly recommended) - Also called atsuete in Filipino, it is made from annatto seeds. It gives the pork a smoky flavor as well as a very beautiful red color. Here's how you make it. You can omit this as it will not affect the flavor that much.
Lemongrass stalk - Depending on where you live, it can be hard to find sometimes. If I find it in my local grocery store, I buy it in bulk and freeze it for later use. Use the white part only. Lemongrass paste can be used.
Red onion and garlic - Aromatics. Enough said.
Soy sauce - Low sodium is perfect for any sisig recipe. Same flavor, less sodium. You can use tamari as a gluten-free option or regular soy sauce.
Fish sauce - A great umami flavor.
Datu Puti vinegar - This vinegar is crucial as it makes the most authentic sisig. Made from sugar cane, it has a slightly sweet taste, which is a very traditional Filipino flavor. You can find this in most Asian markets. If you cannot find this, use any cane sugar vinegar.
Sweetener - I used white sugar for this as it's only for the marinade. It is cheap.
Egg - The egg cooks in the sizzle of the meat and cast iron pan, and acts like a creamy sauce. So mandatory.
Red onion and green onions - For color and flavor
Bird's eye chili - Completely optional, however, it is crucial. Sisig is meant to have spice. Great appetizer if you're making this for a large crowd of adults.
Calamansi juice or lime juice - We do not have calamansi in Canada. We have limes, and that will work as well.

Equipment

large bowl with a lid for marinating
BBQ, charcoal grill, or grill pan
cutting board and knife
sizzling plate, hot plate, or cast iron skillet (I am using a cast iron)

How to make Pork Belly Sisig

Step 1. Marinate your pork belly for 30 minutes to overnight.

In a large bowl, add annatto oil, lemongrass, half red onion, 2 smashed garlic cloves, vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Rub the pork belly with the marinade and cover with a lid.
Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or for best results overnight.

Step 2. Barbeque your pork belly sisig.

Grill your marinated pork belly until it is cooked. About 10 minutes flipping a few times for good color.
Cool the pork belly for a few minutes and chop it up into small pieces.
In a bowl add the pork mixture and add more (3 tbsp) vinegar and (3 tbsp) soy sauce for that extra sour and salty traditional flavor. This is what I like to call vinegar dressing.

Step 3. Broil in cast iron skillet and garnish.

Set your oven to broil.
In a cast iron pan, add the pork belly with all the sauce.
Broil for 5 minutes or until it is CRISPY. You want a Crispy Sisig.
Garnish with an egg on top, remaining onion, green onions, and red chili peppers. Add as little or as much chili to make spicy sisig.

** The heat from the cast iron and the meat will cook the raw egg and make a creamy sauce.

Serve Pork Belly Sisig with

Any alcoholic beverage will do but the best is cold beer.
Bowl of steamed rice. I made a mixture of short grain rice with wild rice and it became purple. YUM!
Butter lettuce. I serve it as a lettuce wrap. Healthier option. See picture below.

Still hungry? Try out my other recipes!

Pineapple Spam Fried Rice

Juicy Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs – Balsamic Glazed

The Best Chicken Sisig with Chicharron

Easy Pork Belly Sisig Recipe – no liver, no mayo

Easy Pork Belly Sisig

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

Print Recipe

This is the late Anthony Bourdain's favorite Filipino street food. This sisig recipe has the sour, salty, spicy, and sweet flavors that you look for in traditional sisig recipe.

Total Time: 2 - 26 hours depending on marinating time
Yield: 2-4 1x

Instructions

In a large bowl add Annatto oil, lemongrass, half red onion, 2 smashed garlic cloves, vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Rub the pork belly with the marinade and cover with a lid.
Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or for best results overnight.
Grill your marinated pork belly until it is cooked. About 10 minutes flipping a few times for good color.
Cool the pork belly for a few minutes and chop it up into small pieces.
In a bowl add the pork mixture and add more (3 tbsp) vinegar and (3 tbsp) soy sauce for that extra sour and salty traditional flavor. This is what I like to call vinegar dressing.
Set your oven to broil.
Broil for 5 minutes or until it is CRISPY. You want a Crispy Sisig.
Garnish with an egg on top, remaining onion, green onions, and red chili peppers. Add as little or as much red chili to make spicy sisig.
Serve and enjoy with a cold beer.