The World Cook

Costa Rica

Group E | North America

Chifrijo

A favorite bar snack of Los Ticos, chifrijo has is chips and salsa amped up by crispy pork and a classic Costa Rican condiment - Salsa Lizano. And if its not your new favorite sauce after this well, then not even Keylor Navas can save you.

Sonia Mendez Garcia shows us how to do it right. Coach suggests a boneless piece of pork belly, which will make for easy dicing later on in the recipe.

Time 2hrs
Makes 4
Difficulty Professional
Units Imperial Metric

Ingredients

900g Pork belly
2lb

900g

Pork belly
2 tbsp Soy sauce
2 tbsp

2 tbsp

Soy sauce
2 Tomatoes
2

2

Tomatoes
½ Onion
½

½

Onion diced
1 Jalapeño pepper
1

1

Jalapeño pepper deseeded, finely diced
90g Coriander
¼ cup

90g

Coriander
1 Lime
1

1

Lime juiced
3 tbsp Olive oil
3 tbsp

3 tbsp

Olive oil
1 clove Garlic
1 clove

1 clove

Garlic minced
1 piece Celery
1 piece

1 piece

Celery
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp

1 tsp

Cumin
2 tbsp Salsa Linzano
2 tbsp

2 tbsp

Salsa Linzano
400g Black beans
14oz

400g

Black beans canned
475ml Vegetable oil
2 cups

475ml

Vegetable oil
140g Rice
1 cup

140g

Rice
350g Tortilla chips
13oz

350g

Tortilla chips
1 Avocado
1

1

Avocado sliced

1

Preheat the oven to 500°F260°C. Season the pork belly with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Then place on a wire rack above lined baking sheet. Place in the oven for 10 minutes and then lower to 325°F160°C and leave for a further 90 minutes.
2

Meanwhile, make the pico de gallo by mixing together the tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeño pepper, coriander, lime juice and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3

On a low setting, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a sauce pan. Add garlic, celery and cook for 8 minutes. Then add cumin, Salsa Linzano, black beans with their liquid, and cover and cook for 20 minutes.
4

When cool, dice the pork belly into bite-size bits.
5

On a medium-high setting, heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Once hot, in batches, add diced pieces of the pork until they turn a darker shade of brown. Place fried pieces of pork on a paper towel to dry.
6

In a small saucepan cook rice in 2 cups500ml of water - bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook with the lid on until rice is soft.
7

Serve over rice and tortilla chips. Layer with the beans, pork, pico de gallo and top with the avocado and an extra drizzle of Linzano.