Air Fryer Pork Belly Sisig

Intro

Get ready to indulge in a guilt-free and mouth-watering dish with our Air Fryer Pork Belly Sisig recipe!

Sisig is a popular sizzling pork dish from the Pampanga region of the Philippines. This Filipino dish is usually served with calamansi, grilled onions, and peppers. The name is derived from the word “sisigan,” which translates to “to make sour,” because early versions of the dish were primarily made from citrus.

Read on for the healthy and easy recipe that is sure to please your friends and family!

History of Sisig

While the true origin of sisig is unclear, its first recording was by an Augustinian friar in 1732. In this record, sisig was described as a citrus “salad” served as a side with meat and vinegar. This version of sisig remained for centuries.

Then in the 1970’s, the dish was reinvented by a chef named Lucia Cunanan (nicknamed the “Sisig Queen”). She added pig’s ears, cheeks, and chicken liver, then served it on a sizzling plate. Her recipe gave new life to the age-old dish and allowed her restaurant to remain competitive with other restaurants. Even more, other restaurants started adopting her recipe to add to their menus. Since then the dish has become popularized due to tourism and was even featured by Anthony Bourdain. Today, sisig is still an evolving dish, as you can see with this air fryer sisig recipe.

Traditional Kapampangan Sisig

Angeles City in Pampanga takes much pride in being the birthplace of sisig. They even hold an annual sisig festival (“Sisig Fiesta”) in which they hold culinary competitions and street food stalls.

Traditional Kapampangan sisig is based on the Sisig Queen’s recipe. Pork head and chicken liver are boiled and then grilled or broiled. The meat is then chopped into fine pieces and combined with other ingredients such as onion and peppers, then served with calamansi. This is probably the simplest form of sisig you may encounter today.

Modern Versions of Sisig

Modern versions of sisig are often made with the same boiling-then-grilling method, but they also add more ingredients. Some recipes include ingredients like eggs, ox, chicharon, chicken, and mayonnaise. There’s even a crocodile sisig dish that’s served in the island of Palawan!

Recently, we’ve seen many restaurants use sisig as a topping for french fries or as a filling for burritos (check out Senior Sisig if you’re in the Bay Area). We’d love to make our own recipes for those someday!

Sisig Ingredients

Our grocery didn’t have any pig head parts or calamansi, so we decided to make this recipe with pork belly and lemon. For a more authentic sisig, look for pig’s ears, cheeks, snout, and chicken liver.

Pork Belly Marinade

• 2 lb pork belly thick sliced with skin
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup white cane vinegar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Sisig

• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ large yellow onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic sliced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 slices ginger minced
• 1 bell pepper red, yellow, or green; chopped
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• thai chili peppers (optional if you want it really spicy)

How to Cook Sisig

Our modern version of sisig involves boiling then air frying pork belly. Then, it is tossed in a mixture of grilled onions and bell peppers.

Marinate the pork belly

1. Combine all marinade ingredients.
2. Marinate the pork belly in the refridgerator for 2 hours.

Boil the pork belly

1. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.
2. Boil the pork belly for 40 min. When done, place it on a cooling rack and pat dry. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Air fry the pork belly

1. Preheat the air fryer by running it at 400°F for 5 min.
2. Score the pork belly skin by cutting a criss-cross pattern. Keep your cuts shallow so you only cut the skin.
3. Place the pork belly in the air fryer basket. If needed, cut the pork belly in half so that it lays low to the bottom.
4. Air fry at 400°F for 12-15 min. Remove when the pork belly skin is golden brown and crispy.
5. Let the pork belly rest on the cooling rack for 10 min.

Cook the sisig

1. Heat a cast iron or saucepan to med-high.
2. Add butter, then saute the onion and garlic.
3. Add soy sauce, ginger, bell pepper, and brown sugar. Cook until brown.
4. Chop the pork belly into small cubes then add to the saute. Mix well.
5. Top with green onions, fried egg, cilantro, red pepper. Squeeze with lemon or calamansi.

Tips on Cooking Sisig

• Don’t crowd the air fryer. We had a large piece that we had to bend to fit inside the basket, but this made the piece come too close to the heating element, resulting in smoking and burning. If your pork belly doesn’t fit in one piece, consider cutting it in half or working in batches. However, don’t cut them into small pieces because that will risk drying out the pork.
• Add the pork belly to the saute at the last possible moment before serving. In other words, mix it into the saute then serve immediately. This will ensure that your pork skin will remain crunchy.

How to Serve Sisig

Sisig is a pulutan dish, meaning it’s meant to accompany alcoholic beverages (usually beer). Serve it on a sizzling plate with a bowl of white rice or fried rice on the side, and crack open a cold one! You may also consider serving it with some sides like atcharang chayote (Pickled Chayote and Vegetables), corn cheese, or chop suey.

Sisig Toppings

We recommend the following toppings for your sisig dish:

• green onions
• cilantro
• fried onions
• thai chili peppers
• lemon or calamansi

Other toppings you can add are: a raw or fried egg, mayonnaise (watch out, some people find this controversial!), or chicharon!

Final Thoughts

A modern version of the famous Filipino dish, this sisig replaces deep frying with air frying for a crunchier, less oily experience. Accompany this with a beer and you get a drool-worthy meal!

References & Further Reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisig#:~:text=Sisig%20(%2F%CB%88si%CB%90s,a%20staple%20of%20Kapampangan%20cuisine.

https://www.unileverfoodsolutions.com.ph/chef-inspiration/certified-sisig-masters/the-history-of-sisig-shows-it-is-not-just-about-pork.html

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Editor’s note: This post was originally published on January 22, 2021. It has been updated with content and images on May 11, 2023.