Tokwa't Baboy

In our family almost everyone knows and loves to cook, we may have gotten it from our roots. My mother is a pure-bred Kapampangan and her love for cooking and good food has been thankfully passed on to us. My eldest brother, Kuya Gerald can easily put together a scrumptious "pulutan" from scratch especially if there's an impromptu drinking sesh with the boys at hand. 

Pulutan comes from the Tagalog word pulot which means to pick in English. It is basically food that you can easily eat or "pick" while drinking alcoholic beverages. Tokwa't Baboy is one of the most requested pulutan/appetizer in our family. It is a dish made out fried tofu and crispy fried pork ears or face. The richness of the dish is balanced out with a soy-vinegar dipping, fresh tomatoes and green chillies.  

This well-loved recipe has been handed out to me by my brother, Kuya Gerald. The recipes in this blog has bonded our family throughout the years. And I know that wherever life may take us I find comfort in knowing that these recipes- and the food that we make- will always keep the bond in our family. Tagay na!

Ingredients:

1 kg pig ears or face (maskara)

1 pc. star anise

1-2 pcs. dried bay leaf

3/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

Salt

1 tbsp of whole peppercorns

1 whole onion chopped

Cooking oil 

6 pcs firm tofu, fried, and cut into strips

4 pcs tomatoes, sliced in thin wedges

3 green chillies (siling haba) thinly sliced 

1 medium onion (white), sliced into strips

Soy Vinegar Dipping:

3/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 small white onion chopped

1 pinch of ground black pepper

1-2 tbsp brown sugar

1 Prepare the dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Adjust according to taste. Set aside.

2 Fill half of a large pot with water, carefully place in the pig ears and salt. Bring to a boil and skim the scum. Add the Worcestershire sauce, star anise, onion, whole peppercorns and bay leaf . Adjust taste by adding more salt if needed. The broth should be on the salty side to give more flavor to the pig ears. Boil until pig ears are tender but still a little firm. Remove from the pot and transfer to a strainer. Let it drip and cool. Cut the pig ears in pieces for easier frying (I made mine about the size of my palm).

3 Heat up a frying pan and add cooking oil. Heat the oil until it smokes. Gently place in one piece of the pig ears and cover immediately. If the oil is hot enough, you will hear the popping and splattering of oil. Once the sound subsides, you can turn it to fry the other side. Then  place it in a paper towel or strainer to drain the oil. Do the same for the rest of the pig ears.

4 Chop the fried pig ears into thin strips or bite-sized pieces. In a serving dish, assemble the Tokwa't-Baboy by arranging the tofu, sliced pig ears, strips of white onion, pieces of tomatoes and green chillies. You can pour the soy vinegar dip directly onto it and combine gently or serve on the side.  

5 Serve and enjoy with a bottle of cold beer.