I’ve been craving for Tocilog for quite some time now. I don’t know where to buy tocino here in Singapore, not even sure if there’s anyone selling it so I challenged myself to just make it at home.
On my first attempt, I used a flat thin cut of pork belly. To cut the long story short, my first attempt ended up a massive failure. The meat turned out to be too salty, to the point that you can’t taste the meat and sweetness anymore. It literally felt like you were just eating salt. Thankfully, my good-natured husband still ate it after boiling the meat in water for a few minutes to lessen the saltiness.
It took a few more tweaks and adjustments but armed with cravings and determination here I am now writing the recipe that finally did it.
I wanted my tocino to be truly homemade so I did not use any curing salt. As a substitute, I used pure pineapple juice (not syrup) for preservation. For the color, my Mama (Hi Ma!) suggested using paprika. I checked my pantry and found smoke paprika. Kaching! Smoky tocino here we go.
What better way to start your day than having a bowl of Tocilog.
I hope you make this recipe soon and have it for breakfast with your family. Don’t forget to share your photo in our Facebook and Instagram page with #RivertenKitchen.
Watch how to cook the tocino
Homemade Chicken Tocino
PrintIngredients
- 500 g skinless chicken breasts or boneless thighs
- 1 tablespoons salt
- 7 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika sweet
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
Instructions
- Combine chicken, salt, sugar and smoked paprika in a glass bow. Massage chicken with the mixture until well-combined. Stir in pineapple juice. Cover bowl and marinate for 3 days in the fridge.
- If you need to cook it at a much later time, transfer meat to a freezer-proof container and put it in the freezer for one week up to maximum of two weeks.
- Heat oil in a frying pan over low-medium heat. Fry the tocino for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Make sure that pan is not too hot to avoid burning the sugar.
Notes
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Hi Mella,
Thank you so much for sharing your Soft Spanish Bread Recipe. They’re my childrens favourite and when i made them yesterday it was an instant hit, the bread its soft and the filling(they want thicker filling?)Just Yummy. Thank you so much? Looking forward to more recipes from your blog.
Mia
Thanks Mia! I’m so happy you and your kids loved the recipe! Happy home cooking!