Cuisine: Meghalaya
Category: Snack
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 30 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy
🍗 Non-Vegetarian
Pork skin slow-rendered until crispy and golden — the beloved Khasi snack that celebrates the whole-animal philosophy of Meghalayan cooking.
Ingredients
- 500g pork skin — cleaned and cut into 3 to 4 cm squares
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- For serving: fresh chilli, lemon, salt as a dipping mixture
Method
- Clean the pork skin. Remove any remaining hair with a razor or over a flame. Cut into 3 to 4 cm squares.
- Place pork skin pieces in a pot. Cover with water.
- Boil for 15 to 20 minutes until the skin is soft and cooked through. Drain and pat completely dry.
- Season the boiled skin with salt, turmeric and black pepper. Toss well.
- Heat a dry heavy pan or deep pan with a small amount of oil on medium heat.
- Add the boiled, seasoned skin pieces.
- Cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 3 to 4 minutes.
- The skin will gradually render its fat and become increasingly crispy and golden. The time varies based on thickness.
- For very crispy crackling: after initially cooking, increase heat to high for the last 5 minutes.
- Drain on paper towels. Cool slightly — the skin crisps further as it cools.
- Make the dipping: mix fresh chilli, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt.
- Serve the crackling while still warm and crispy.