A favorite Filipino breakfast is tocino, cured sweet pork. And it couldn’t be easier to make at home. The hardest part is waiting for it to marinate to get all the yummy flavors.
I am from Silay City, Negros Occidental.
Negros is the sugar capital of the Philippines.
Therefore, I have a sweet tooth.
And one of my favorite breakfast meats is tocino.
Tocino is marinated, thinly sliced pork strips. It normally comes in a nauseating red (caused by using saltpeter as a preservative) and is super sweet.
Growing up, we would only buy Pampanga tocino, as we trust that they are marinated to our liking.
So, when I moved abroad, of course, I had to figure out how to make this on my own.
After a few years out of Negros, my tolerance for super sweet items has decreased! Imagine that. But I am not complaining, as that is healthier.
Therefore, I have to experiment with my tocino recipe.
TOCINO EXPERIMENTS
I have made tocino with only sugar and salt.
With all white sugar. Then, with all brown sugar. Brown and white sugar, mixed.
With vinegar.
To use food coloring or no food coloring…
I have also gone through kilos of pork.
Then I found Foxy Folksy’s recipe online.
PAMPANGA TOCINO ADAPTED TO MY ILONGGO TASTE
As she is Kapampangan, I was excited to try it.
Her recipe calls for a bit of pineapple juice (optional, but it gives the flavor that I like and also acts as a tenderizer).
However, I don’t usually have pineapple juice at home. We don’t drink a lot of juice and I am reluctant to buy and let the rest expire in the fridge. We are after all trying to lessen our food waste at home.
So, I experimented with substitutions until I found that apple cider vinegar worked well.
But if you have pineapple juice on hand, use that instead of apple cider vinegar. Or reduce the apple cider vinegar to 1 tbsp and add 2 tbsp pineapple juice. I enjoy the additional sourness the apple cider vinegar adds.
The hardest part about making tocino is slicing the pork. To facilitate that, freeze your pork for at least 30 minutes to harden and slice thinly (around ¼ cm) with a very sharp knife.
Then, mix all your marinade ingredients in a bowl, add in the pork and massage with your fingers. If you have added some annatto powder or red food coloring, I highly suggest you wear gloves.
I usually massage it for around 5 minutes, then call it the day. If you have the patience and stamina, try massaging for longer to tenderize the meat.
Then, transfer to a glass container, cover, and refrigerate at least overnight to let the marinade do its work.
I then like to portion it out into 100 grams helpings and freeze.
HOW TO FRY THE TOCINO
If I had the foresight to thaw the tocino, I fry the pork pieces directly in a hot frying pan with a little bit of oil. I like using a nonstick pan for this as the melted sugar sticks like hell.
If I wasn’t able to thaw the tocino, I place the frozen tocino in a frying pan, add ½ cup of water and cover. Bring the water to a boil, then uncover and separate the tocino pieces.
Let the water evaporate and after add a tablespoon of oil if needed.
Fry to your desired doneness.
Serve, preferably with rice, an egg, and chopped tomatoes.
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If you like Pork Tocino, you might like these other Filipino breakfasts too:
To save for future reference, pin the tocino recipe!
Tweety
Yields 5
Serves 100 g
Sweet and salty, tocino is a Filipino favorite. Served with rice and an egg, it helps you start the day with a full belly.
4 hr, 30 Prep Time
10 minCook Time
4 hr, 40 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 500 – 600 g of pork of choice (preferably with some fat marbling), thinly sliced
- ½ c – 1 (80 g) tbsp brown sugar
- 2 ½ tsp (17 g) fine sea salt
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced (About 1 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp rice flour
- 1 tsp Annatto powder or red food coloring, optional
Directions
- In a large bowl, add all the marinade ingredients and mix well. Add in the pork and massage with your hands for at least 5 minutes. Longer if you are patient enough. This will help make the pork tender.
- Marinate in the refrigerator at least overnight. Freeze if not using immediately.
- To fry, thaw and fry in a hot pan with some oil.
- If frying from frozen, place the frozen tocino in a frying pan, add ½ cup of water and cover. Bring the water to a boil, then uncover and separate the tocino pieces.
- Let the water evaporate and add a tablespoon of oil, if needed.
- Fry to your desired doneness.
Notes
prep time includes minimum marinate time
