Akabenz

Ingredients

The pork

• 1.2 kgpork belly or shoulder
• with the skin left on if possible
• cut into large 4 cm chunks
• not trimmed of its fat

For the first cooking

• 1onion, halved
• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
• a thumb of ginger, sliced
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• water, to come halfway up

The seasoning

• juice of 2 lemons
• or 3 limes
• 2hot chillies, chopped
• or akabanga, the Rwandan chilli oil
• 1stock cube, optional
• 2 tablespoonsoil, only if needed

To serve

• fried plantain
• ripe and sweet, cut thick
• raw onion, sliced thinly
• tomato and onion salad
• extra chilli oil
• cold beer

Directions

1. Leave the skin on if your butcher will supply it that way. Do not trim the fat away at any point. Cut the pork into generous chunks of about four centimetres. Smaller pieces overcook and dry out during the long simmer.
2. Put the pork chunks into a heavy pot with a thick base. Add the halved onion, the crushed garlic and the sliced ginger. Add the salt and the black pepper and a stock cube if you use one. Pour in water to come about halfway up the meat. Do not cover the pork completely with water. Bring the pot to a boil and skim off any grey foam that rises.
3. Simmer it for about forty-five minutes until the pork is tender. Test a piece with a fork, which should go in easily. Uncover the pot and raise the heat to medium. Let the remaining liquid boil away steadily.
4. Stir it from time to time so nothing catches on the base. Those spatters carry hot fat and they travel a surprising distance. Stand well back from the pot as the sound changes. Wear long sleeves if you can and use a splatter guard if you have one.
5. Keep children out of the kitchen while it is happening. Turn the pieces regularly so they colour on all sides. Fry them for a further twenty to thirty minutes. The outside should turn deep brown and genuinely crisp. Add a spoonful of oil only if your cut was lean and rendered little fat. A good pork belly will render far more fat than you need.
6. Cut into the largest piece and check before serving. The juices should run clear rather than pink. Lift the pieces out and drain them on a rack over kitchen paper. A rack is better than paper alone because it keeps them crisper.
7. Squeeze the lemon or lime juice over them while they are still hot. Scatter the chopped chilli over, or drizzle akabanga if you have it. It is extremely hot and it is used a drop or two at a time.
8. Use ripe plantains for this, with yellow skins and black patches. Peel them by cutting the ends off and scoring the skin lengthways. Cut them into thick diagonal slices about two centimetres across. Fry them in hot oil for about three minutes a side until golden. Drain them and sprinkle a little salt over while they are hot.
9. Fill the pan no more than one third full of oil. Never leave hot oil unattended for a moment. Keep a well fitting lid within easy reach of the pan. If the oil catches fire, turn off the heat and slide the lid over to smother it.
10. Pile the pork onto a board or a plate with the plantain beside it. Scatter thinly sliced raw onion over the top of the pork. Serve a simple tomato and onion salad alongside. Put extra chilli oil on the table for those who want more heat. Leftovers keep three days in the refrigerator. Fry it from thawed rather than from frozen, since wet meat spits badly.

Technique

• The pork is cooked twice and that is the whole method: it simmers in seasoned water until tender, the water boils away, and the meat then fries in its own rendered fat in the same pot without anything being changed. Mexican carnitas and Honduran chicharrón work on exactly the same principle.
• The moment the water finishes evaporating is the hazardous one. The last of it spatters violently through the hot fat and travels a surprising distance. Stand well back as the sound changes from bubbling to sizzling, wear long sleeves, use a splatter guard if you have one, and keep children out of the kitchen.
• Do not trim the fat, and use belly rather than a lean cut. The rendered fat is what fries the meat in the second stage — with a lean cut there is nothing to fry it in and it simply dries out.
• Cut the pork into generous four-centimetre chunks. Smaller pieces dry out during the simmer and fall apart before they reach the frying stage.
• Add water only halfway up the meat. This is not a boil, it is a simmer that is meant to cook dry, and drowning the pork means a long wait for nothing.
• The lemon or lime squeezed over the hot pork is essential rather than a garnish. It cuts straight through the fat and the dish is heavy without it.
• Akabanga, the Rwandan chilli oil sold in small dropper bottles, is extremely hot and used a drop at a time. It is genuinely well known in Rwanda and now exported. Capsaicin clings to skin for hours and transfers to eyes long after washing.
• Use ripe plantain for the accompaniment, not green. Ripe plantain caramelises and its sweetness against the salty crisp pork is the point of the pairing; green plantain is starchy and makes a different dish.
• The name is widely said to reference the Mercedes-Benz, as a nod to something desirable. The atlas has found no documentary source establishing that and records it as a story rather than as fact. It is entirely plausible and simply not something the atlas can assert.

Substitutions

• Pork shoulder replaces belly and is a little less rich, though belly gives the best result.
• Lime replaces lemon and is used interchangeably.
• Any hot chilli sauce replaces akabanga, which is a specific Rwandan product sold in dropper bottles.
• Fried cassava or potatoes replace the plantain where plantain is unavailable.
• A stock cube is what most cooks in the region use; salt and a good stock do the same job.
• Goat cooked the same way is made in some places, though pork is what akabenz means.

Variations

• A version cooked entirely on a grill over charcoal, after the initial simmer, is made at some bars.
• Brochettes, skewered grilled goat or beef, are the other great Rwandan bar food and are often ordered alongside.
• Some places serve it with isombe, the cassava leaf and groundnut dish, rather than plantain.
• A version with far more chilli cooked into the pork itself is made for those who want it hot throughout.
• Related twice-cooked pork dishes are made across the Great Lakes region under their own names.
• Some cooks finish it with a squeeze of orange as well as lemon, which sweetens the acidity.

Frequently asked questions

What is Akabenz?

Akabenz is a main from Rwanda: crispy fried pork chunks, beloved bar food with plantains and chili.

How long does Akabenz take to make?

Akabenz takes 20 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4 as bar food. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Akabenz?

Yes, within limits. Pork shoulder replaces belly and is a little less rich, though belly gives the best result. Lime replaces lemon and is used interchangeably. Any hot chilli sauce replaces akabanga, which is a specific Rwandan product sold in dropper bottles. Fried cassava or potatoes replace the plantain where plantain is unavailable. A stock cube is what most cooks in the region use; salt and a good stock do the same job. Goat cooked the same way is made in some places, though pork is what akabenz means.

What is the most important thing to get right in Akabenz?

Leave the skin on if your butcher will supply it that way. Do not trim the fat away at any point. Cut the pork into generous chunks of about four centimetres. Smaller pieces overcook and dry out during the long simmer.