Lechon belly is a roasted pork belly dish that is marinated with house spices, minced garlic, pineapple chunks, star anise, lemongrass, and green onions. The pork belly is rolled up and cooked slowly for several hours until the skin turns crispy and mahogany in color. The dish is known for its flavorful and tender meat with a crunchy, shattering skin that resembles a delicious pork potato chip.
Kensington MD
Kuya Ja's Lechon Belly
Lechon Belly
pork belly / house spices / minced garlic / pineapple chunks / star anise / lemongrass / green onions
Signature Dish
From Prep to Plate
Seth heads to Kuya Ja, a Filipino restaurant in Rockville, Maryland, to learn from Chef Javier "Ja" Fernandez about the art of cooking lechon belly, a delicious roast pork belly dish from the Philippines' Island of Cebu. Roasted for hours, stuffed with pineapple and lemongrass, and flavored with a myriad of spices, Chef Ja reveals how to achieve crispy skin and the perfect mahogany color. At the end, Seth sits down to enjoy the delicious pork belly alongside a ginger and papaya salad and learns why Kuya Ja is a must-visit spot for lovers of Filipino food in the D.C.-area.
The name of the suburban storefront tells you what to order: slow-cooked pork that gets its savor from lemongrass, pineapple and garlic; its sound effects from mahogany skin that breaks apart like glass.
Tom Sietsema, Washington Post
