SAWCLicious: Grilled Pork in Sprite Marinade

I grew up at home learning that cola drinks are not only for drinking. They are also for cooking! When I was a kid, we would fry tikoy marinated in 7-up. I've seen adobo with Coke and most often we marinate pork or chicken with some Sprite! Yes, this may sound weird until you get to try the well tasted food. I don't know why it has to be the Cola but I'm guessing that it's the sweetness that makes it really good. For this blog entry, I'm sharing the Grilled Pork recipe marinated in Sprite. You can substitute pork with chicken. I had this during my birthday dinner and it was a unanimous thumbs up for everyone who tried it! It goes well with some pickled vegetables on the side (Atsara) and some soy-vinegar dip.

Grilled Pork in Sprite Marinade with Soy-Vinegar Dip

Ingredients

For the Pork...

• 500 grams pork belly slices (Liempo)
• 1/2 can of Sprite/7-up (150ml)
• Juice of 1 piece lemon/lime
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tbsp. vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• freshly ground black pepper

Soy-Vinegar Garlic Dip...

• 1 medium red onion diced
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• Optional: sliced finger chili (sili labuyo)

Procedure

1. Combine all ingredients for the pork in a bowl or container. Marinade pork for 5-6 hours at a minimum. It would taste better if you marinade it overnight.
2. Combine the soy-vinegar garlic dip and let it sit for 1-2 hours before serving.
3. To cook, use a griller, grill pan, or oven. Drain the pork and discard the marinade. Cook one side for 10-15 minutes (depending on the pork's thickness). Make sure you don't overcrowd your pan so that you get it cooked with a good brown color. 
4. Slice the pork before serving. Serve with the dip, white rice, and some pickled vegetables.