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1
Place the pork belly in a pot and cover fully with cold water. Add the salt, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook until the pork is fully tender throughout — a skewer meets no resistance when pushed through the thickest part of the meat.
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2
Lift the pork from the liquid and set it skin-side up on a wire rack. Pat dry. Leave uncovered in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours — the skin must be completely desiccated, dry and tight to the touch, with no trace of moisture on the surface.
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3
This is where the dish lives or dies. Mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar with 1 teaspoon of baking soda and brush the solution over the skin side only. Return the pork, uncovered, to the refrigerator for a further 2 hours. The skin will appear matte and chalky — this is correct. Any residual softness or moisture on the skin at this point will produce hard, dense crackling rather than hollow blisters in the oil.
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4
Heat the oil in a deep kawali or deep wok to 190–200°C. Lower the pork carefully into the oil, skin-side down. Do not move it for the first 2 minutes — movement at this stage prevents the initial crust from forming. Continue to fry, turning once, until the entire skin surface has erupted into a blistered, golden crackling and the exterior is a deep amber. The sound shifts from a violent spitting to a steady, lower crackle when the crust has set.
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5
Transfer the pork to a wire rack and rest for 5 minutes before chopping. The crackling will firm as the internal steam escapes — it should shatter cleanly under the knife with no sogginess.
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6
Chop into portions and arrange on a platter. Serve immediately with sarsa ng lechon or banana ketchup, steamed rice, and atchara alongside.