Make your own crispy pork cracklings and lard oil recipe in 10 minutes
The secret to great tasty fried Hokkien prawn noodles, Char Kway Teow, Bak Chor Mee and fishball noodles at our hawker centres is in the pork crackling and lard oil used.
To get the same flavour when we replicate these comfort food at home, we discovered the short cut to making your own pork cracklings and lard oil at home in just 10 minutes.
The usual recipe for making pork lard involves frying the pork lard with water and oil for up to 30 minutes, in this recipe the time needed is only 10 minutes. The flavour is much better and the risk of you burning your pork lard is low. Save you the torturous constant stirring of the hot pork fats and lower the risk getting splattered upon by the oil since you cook for a shorter time.
You can get your pork fats at most supermarket, wet market or even online.
Tip to how much to buy, if you buy two pack of pork fats, you will end up with one pack of pork cracklings after cooking as the cubes of fats will be rendered into lard oil. These pork fats are a steal and usually are sold cheaply as these are considered the “unhealthy fats”. About the “unhealthy pork fats”, according to science- it says that pork fat is a good source of B vitamins and minerals, no Trans fats and monounsaturated fats. It is can actually lower bad cholesterol and heart disease. But as with all fats and oil, we should consume these in moderation. Let’s get started.
Boil a pan of water with sliced gingers and green onions.
When the water starts boiling, lower the pork fat cubes into the boiling water to blanch them. This helps to remove the gamey taste, smell, impurities. From a cooking science point of view helps to increase the temperature of the pork fats so the frying time is largely lessen.
This is a very short process and takes less than a minute.
Once the scum – foamy and frothy forms, remove the pork fats using a skimmer spoon and set aside in a bowl. Discard the foamy water, ginger and scallions. Rinse the pan well and prepare to fry the pork fats in the pan.
To fry the pork fats, you do not need to add oil nor preheat the pan. The pork fats will release lard oil when you fry them on a medium high heat. Just on your stove to medium high heat and lower the pork fats into the pan. At this time, there will be some sizzling and it is perfectly normal. You may add a pinch of salt and some chicken powder seasoning (optional) for extra flavour.
Let the pork fats render in its own lard oil in medium high heat with occasional stirring with the spatula. You have to watch it closely as the pork fats will turn brown quickly. Reduce the heat to low to prevent it from overheating. When the pork fats are almost halved in size and the sizzling bubbles is reduced, it is a sign that the pork crackling is almost ready.
In under 10 minutes, the golden brown pork cracklings are ready to be removed from the oil and heat. These pork crackling will turn a darker hue of brown even after removing from the hot oil as the pork crackling continue to cook with the residue heat. It will then be the perfect colour and crispiness.
Check out the perfect golden brown pork cracklings. Allow these pork crackling to cool down sufficiently before storing away in the air tight container. If you store them, immediately after cooking while they are still hot, the steam will cause the crackling to go soft and lose the crunch. These crackling can be stored up to a week on your kitchen counter or on a cool shelve away from the sun. Check for any signs of mould before each use.
These are irresistible treats that you can munch on as a snack or use them in any stir fried noodle dishes at home.
After removing the pork cracklings, you are left with the lard oil. These are the essence of the pork fats, let it cool down in the pan before transferring to an airtight container.
Filter the lard oil through a fine mesh strainer to remove the small bits of lard that has dislodge and burnt as these renders a bitter taste to the oil. Store the lard oil in the fridge in an airtight container and it can last up to 4 months. Check for any rancid smell before using, discard immediately if there is.
These oils are great for stir frying greens to add an aroma depth to the greens. Enjoy the tasty recreation of hawker food in the comfort of your own home.