Crispy Pata Recipe
"Tasty crispy pata recipe made of pork leg cooked until tender then deep-fried until golden and crisp. This traditional Filipino delicacy is a pork-lovers delight -savory tender juicy meat wrapped in a crunchy pork skin."
Equipment
- deep pan and tongs
- Chopping board and knife
- cooling rack / wire rack
- measuring spoon and measuring cup
Ingredients
- 1 piece pork leg
- water
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorn
- 2 and ½ tablespoons salt -- divided for boiling and rubbing
- 1 head garlic, split in half diagonally
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 3 pieces bay leaves
- 2 stalks lemon grass, pounded and cut into 3parts
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- cooking oil
Dipping Sauce:
- ½ cup vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked whole peppercorn
- ¼ teaspoon salt -- optional
- 1-2 pieces Thai chilies, chopped --- or siling labuyo or chili flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon sugar - - optional
Instructions
- Remove any stray hairs from the pig leg with a knife or shave.
- Place the pork leg in a deep cooking pot and pour in water enough to cover the pork. Cover and bring to a boil using high heat. Remove the scums that floats at the top.
- Put in whole peppercorn, salt, garlic, onion, bay leaves and lemon grass. Cover and simmer over low heat for about an hour or until the pork leg becomes tender. Add more water if needed.
- Take out the tender leg from the cooking pot and drain using a cooling/ wire rack. Set aside to cool down.
- Brush the leg with vinegar and rub with salt. Let it stand and air dry for about 1-2 hours to absorb the rub.
- In a large cooking pot (with lid) using medium heat, pour and heat cooking oil to 350 °F temperature.
- Once oil becomes hot, gently place the pork leg and cover the pot. Remove the cover when the splattering sounds subsides and replace with splatter screen if available.
- Fry over medium heat until one side of the leg is crispy, then flip the leg carefully to the other side. Note: Be extremely careful when doing this step
- Remove the pata from the oil and let it cool down for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat while waiting for the fried pata to cool down.
- After 15 minutes, turn on the heat to medium and wait for the oil to heat to 350 °F. Double fry the pata for 5 minutes on each side or until it is crispy on both side.
- Optional step (be careful when doing this): During the last minute of cooking, sprinkle water over the pata and cover if necessary and let the splatter subside. This will make the skin crispier.
- Transfer to a wide serving plate. Serve with steaming rice or as is with dipping sauce and atchara on the side.
- Dipping Sauce. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir well. Adjust according to your taste.
- Share and enjoy!
