Akabenz recipe

Rwandan bar food: pork fried dry in its own fat until the edges crisp, then tossed with peppers and chilli and cut by a raw tomato-onion kachumbari.

50 minuteseasy9 ingredients

Ingredients

• 1000 g pork belly
• 3 onions
• 3 bell peppers
• 3 fresh chilies
• 4 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt

How to make Akabenz

1. Cut 1 kg pork belly (snout is the prized cut in Kigali) into 3 cm chunks, pat them bone dry and salt with 1 tsp salt.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy pan over medium-high and fry the pork 20-25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the fat renders and the edges go golden and crisp. Add no water at any point: akabenz is dry-fried, never stewed.
3. Pour off the rendered fat, leaving about 2 tbsp in the pan.
4. Add 2 sliced onions, 4 minced garlic cloves and 1 tbsp grated ginger; fry 3 minutes until fragrant.
5. Add 3 sliced bell peppers and 2-3 chopped fresh chilies and cook 8-10 minutes, keeping the vegetables slightly crunchy.
6. Meanwhile make the kachumbari: dice 2 tomatoes and 1 onion, salt lightly and let them sit 10 minutes.
7. Serve straight from the pan, chopped on a board, with the kachumbari and fried plantain or ugali.

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