Pork Sisig

Put the Pork hock and Pork belly in a heavy pot, cover with cold water and bring to a hard boil. Skim off the grey scum that rises, then add Bay leaves, Black peppercorns and 1 tbsp Salt. Drop to a low simmer and cook until a knife slides through the skin with no resistance, around 1 h. Add Pork liver for the last 10 min only, so it poaches gently and never turns crumbly.

⚠ Tip: Saving time? Pressure-cook the head and belly for 25 min, then quick-release; the char and the finish are what make the dish, not the long boil.

Lift the meat out and let it drain and dry in a single layer, until it's cool enough to handle and the surface is no longer wet. This dry skin is what chars later instead of steaming. Discard the aromatics.

⚠ Tip: Wet meat will not char. Blot it with kitchen paper if you're impatient.

Dice Red onions fine. Slice Red chillies into rings, keeping the seeds. Grate Ginger to a paste. Halve the Calamansi and squeeze out the juice; stir it with Cane vinegar and Soy sauce in a small bowl.

Get a charcoal grill or a dry cast-iron pan ripping hot — the grill grate should be smoking before the meat lands. Grill the boiled belly and head pieces until the skin blisters and blackens in patches and the fat drips and flairs, turning once, 10 min to 12 min. Grill the liver briefly too, just until it takes on colour, about 2 min a side. You want char and smoke, not grey meat.

⚠ Tip: Blackened edges are the point — scrape off only the truly burnt bits. If it smells of creosote, your fire is too smoky and not hot enough.

Chop the charred pork and liver into small 0.5 cm dice, keeping the fat and the crisp skin in with the lean — the mix of textures is the whole point of sisig. Pile it into a bowl.

⚠ Tip: A food processor makes mush. Do this by hand with a heavy knife.

Pour the calamansi dressing over the chopped pork and toss well. Add 1 tsp Ground black pepper and the Red onions, Red chillies and Ginger, and toss again. Taste: it should be bracingly sour first, then rich, then heat at the back. Add more Calamansi juice if it's flat.

⚠ Tip: Dress while the meat is still warm so it drinks up the sourness.

Heat a cast-iron sizzling plate or a heavy frying pan over high heat until a drop of water evaporates on contact. Add 1 tbsp Neutral oil and 30 g Butter, then spread the sisig out in one layer. Let it sit undisturbed until the bottom crisps and crackles, about 3 min, then toss once and carry it to the table still spitting.

⚠ Tip: Serve on a trivet — hot plates crack cold tables, and the sizzle dies fast, so eat immediately.

Crack Eggs onto the sizzling plate if you like — it should fry in the pork fat at the edges while the yolk stays runny. Serve with steamed rice and Chilli garlic sauce on the side, and squeeze the last halves of the Calamansi over the top at the table.