Mangalitsa Chef and His Mangalitsa Belly Waffles

Mangalitsa Chef's Carrot Ginger Waffles

I ate the incredible Mangalitsa belly waffle at Monsoon with Mangalitsa Chef.

He's come up with his own savory waffle recipe, which he's released to the world.

If I stay in this business long enough, I'll have a Mangalitsa themed restaurant. I'm going to have Mangalitsa Chef open it. He spent six weeks living with and cooking for the entire Wiesner family. In return, he got to learn how to raise, kill, cut and process Mangalitsa pigs. He's dedicated to Mangalitsa pork. He's looking for work, by the way. If you need an executive chef, please consider Bryce Lamb, reachable at 206-313-9881.

So I took him out to eat the Mangalitsa belly waffle at Monsoon (a Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle). Having opened restaurants in Vietnam, and opened Vietnamese restaurants all over Asia, and having made and eaten waffles in the USA, it seemed like a good idea to bring him.

Mistake! He couldn't just eat and enjoy the waffle. He chewed every bite very slowly, and I could see that all the time, he was thinking about the dish, and how he'd do it. In contrast, I ate all mine (very quickly), and then ate some waffles that another of us couldn't put away.

I asked Mangalitsa Chef to work on the recipe, so that I could put it out there, get it photographed, etc. Below is the waffle recipe. The braised belly and the syrup recipe is here.

Note the egg, waffle (filled with belly) and belly atop the waffle.

Carrot Ginger Waffles



1/18tsp yeast dry active

3/4 C warm carrot juice

1/4 C sugar

dissolve sugar and yeast in juice.



1/4 bu green onion bias cut

1/2 C crispy Mangalitsa pork belly cut into batons

3/4tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 Tbl grated fresh ginger

1 Tbl minced Vietnamese basil

1 Tbl minced cilantro

1/2 Tbl minced mint

2Tbl melted Mangalitsa lard

1 egg yolk

mix with carrot sugar juice



1C AP flour sifted

1C cake flour sifted

add flour in three stages and stir to incorporate



3/4C warm 1/2 and 1/2

add in two stages to flour mixture



5 egg whites whipped to soft peaks

fold meringue into flour mixture in three stages



cover with plastic wrap and place in warm area for thirty minutes.

place 1/2 cup portion on waffle iron and griddle for three minute till done.



Best served with Hoi Sin braised Mangalitsa pork belly, anise and cinnamon infused maple syrup and fried chicken egg with a little salad.