Sticky Tocino Bacon With Riceballs

A recipe from the Philippines with a little Japanese and personal touch.

Cooking time: 1 to 1.5 hour.

Ahhhh!! This recipe is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!

'Another favourite? I thought *blablabla* was your absolute favorite.' - Thus my bf.

But really, this recipe is awesome. It's MEAT, not only salty but also really SWEET.
What a great combo!  But to be the best, there has to be a counter side: It's actually the worst and most unhealthy recipe I know. Good for an instant heart attack! There's lots and lots of sugar and syrup in it and the meat at itself is already very fattening... So stay away from this meal if you have high blood pressure or something (I'm serious for a change, it's best to only make this once in a while). But if your down for some really good comfort food then let's start cooking <3.

Recipe for 2/3 persons (1 in my case):

Ingredients for the meat:

- Around 1 pound of very thick pork slices.

You can also use another kind of meat like chicken,
but trust me, this is the best.

- 1 Mama Sita's Tocino Marinade Mix

- 100 ml water
- Dark syrup (I use the Dutch brand Van Gilse).
The syrup isn't necessary for the original Tocino recipe,
but it's too good to leave it out, it really gives the final touch!
- one tablespoon of oil/butter

Ingredients for the riceballs:

- A package of sushi rice or something like that. As long if its a sticky kind of rice.

- One package of Nori 
- Roasted sesame seeds (I use the brand Foreway)
- Rice mold or baking paper

You can find the marinade, rice, nori and sesame seeds in some toko's
but you can also order them online here: Toko4all.nl

Step 1: Cut the meat in little cubes.

Step 2: Put the meat in a bowl together with the marinade, add 100 ml of water
and mix well. Now give the meat some time to absorb the marinade. At least for
5 minutes, the longer the better! I usually leave it in the fridge for around an hour
before I start cooking. In the meantime, you can start cooking the rice.

Step 3: Now for the rice. I prefer sushi rice because it tends to stay together
nicely for creating something like a riceball. The cooking depends
on the kind of rice you are using so follow the steps you see on the package.
One cup of rice is more than enough for one person.

Step 4: When the rice is done, let it cool off for a few minutes.
While waiting, you can cut the nori into squares depending
on the size you want the riceballs to be. When the rice isn't hot anymore,
you can start creating your own riceballs! It's easy if you have a rice mold,
but I like to use baking paper (foil works too). Create the shape you like
by pressing the rice together with the baking paper.

Step 5: Stick a piece of nori on each riceball (press softly or else the nori cracks).
Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top of them and
the riceballs are done! (It's fine if they cool off as long if the meat stays warm.)

Step 6: Now for this kind of meat you don't need much oil or cooking butter
because the fat of the meat in itself is usually enough to fry. You can use less oil or even leave it out, depending on how much fat there is on the meat. Put the pork in a cooking pan and save the leftover marinade for later.

Step 7: Keep the meat on a high fire until its thoroughly fried,
stir constantly while frying the meat! Don't leave the stove, 'cause
the frying is done in a few minutes.

Step 8: Add the leftover marinade with the meat and put on a medium fire until
the marinade has thickened a bit. Afterwards you add some syrup (one tablespoon)
and keep stirring again on a low fire (the syrup gets burned fast).

Step 9: The meat is done when it's darkened nicely red/brown and when
the sauce has thickened!. Hands, chopsticks, whatever! Time to devour!!!

Tocino has a really sweet taste to it and I think it combines
very well with the rice that neutralizes the strong flavors. Hope you enjoy!