Yuca Con Chicharrón
Boiled cassava (yuca) topped with crisp pork chicharrón, served with a sharp cabbage curtido and a wedge of lime. A casual lunch, a beer snack and a holiday plate all at once. The yuca is starchy and gentle; the chicharrón is rich and salty; the curtido cuts everything. Eaten with the hands or a fork.
Overview
Pork belly cooks slow with its own fat (rendered chicharrón); cassava boils in salted water until tender, then drains; both go on the same plate. The chicharrón is broken into bite-sized pieces over the yuca. A simple curtido of cabbage, carrot and vinegar lifts the plate.
Ingredients
Chicharrón
- 800 g pork belly (skin on, cut into 3 cm cubes)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Yuca
- 1 kg yuca (peeled, cut into 6-8 cm pieces)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Curtido
- 200 g white cabbage (finely shredded)
- 1 carrot (grated)
- 1 red onion (small, very thinly sliced)
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
To serve
- 2 limes (cut into wedges)
- A dish of salsa picante (small, or chimol)
Method
Stage 1 - Curtido
- Combine cabbage, carrot, onion, vinegar, salt and oregano in a bowl; toss; let sit at least 30 minutes.
Stage 2 - Chicharrón
- Place the pork belly in a wide heavy pan with the 2 tablespoons of water; season with salt and pepper.
- Cover; cook over medium-low 25 minutes - the water evaporates and the pork begins to render.
- Uncover; raise the heat; continue cooking 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pork is deeply crisp and golden in its own fat.
- Lift out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper.
Stage 3 - Yuca
- While the chicharrón cooks, place the yuca pieces in a wide pot with salted water to cover.
- Bring to a boil; cook 20-25 minutes until a knife slides through.
- Drain; remove the central fibrous core from each piece if present.
Stage 4 - Plate
- Mound yuca on a wide plate.
- Top with broken pieces of chicharrón.
- Spoon curtido alongside.
- Add lime wedges and a small dish of hot sauce.
Stage 5 - Eat
- Tear chicharrón into bite-sized pieces with fork or fingers; pile onto yuca; top with curtido. Squeeze over lime.
Notes
- Peel the yuca carefully: The skin is tough; score lengthways with a knife and peel each strip off. Remove the central fibre after boiling - it's woody.
- Render slowly: The water-then-fat method (a Mexican / Central American technique) is foolproof. The pork releases its own fat as the water evaporates; it then fries crisp without needing extra oil.
- Frozen yuca: Sold in most large supermarkets in the freezer aisle. Cooks the same; no peeling.
Storage
- Chicharrón refrigerates 3 days; re-crisp in a hot oven 8 minutes.
- Yuca refrigerates 2 days; reheat in salted boiling water 4 minutes.
- Curtido keeps 1 week.
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