Pork Adobo Recipe with a Twist

Almost as many as the dialects spoken in the Philippines are the ways pork adobo can be prepared. Other regions prefer it “soupy”, swimming in the juice, and other parts, like as it is prepared here, simmered to dry with just enough grease to make a cardiologist cringe.

Filipino Pork Adobo

 

Ingredients:

3 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, pork leg or pork belly, cubed
1 1/2 cup vinegar
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 large onion, sliced
1 head garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. peppercorn, crushed
3 to 4 cups water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 onion, sliced into rings
1 to 2 pieces bay leaf

 

Procedure:

1. Wash, cut pork shoulder into serving cubes and place in deep bowl.

2. Add soy sauce, onions, garlic, bay leaf and pepper. Marinate for around 30 minutes. Squeeze marinade out of meat. Set aside liquid.

3. In a heavy skillet or wok, heat oil until very hot. Saute marinated pork plus the onions, garlic and bay leaf in skillet. Allow to brown, stirring constantly.

4. Add vinegar and allow to boil for around 1 to 2 minutes. Lower heat to medium-high. Simmer uncovered until vinegar is reduced, around 10 minutes.

5. Add water and reserved marinade, lower heat to low, and cover. Simmer for around 35-40 minutes, or until pork is tender, and juice is reduced and natural grease from meat has seeped out.

6. Add onion rings and cook for an additional minute or two.

7. Serve with piping hot steamed rice.

Makes 8 servings.

Cooking Tips:

• You can add potato quarters or slices, browning potatoes first and add to adobo during the last 5 to 8 minutes of cooking time.

• The basic ingredients of adobo is pork, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, and water. The other ingredients are just additional and optional condiments as some folks love to make their adobo special and love to have variations.

• Boiling the pork without vinegar in the beginning of cooking procedure makes the process of pork tenderization faster. Add the vinegar when pork is already tender.

• Adding 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce will make your pork adobo more delicious.

Variation of Pork Adobo:

- Pork adobo with potatoes garnished with hard boiled eggs-

-Adobong Puti-

- Healthier Adobo with small cuts of pork with bigger cuts of potatoes-

-Pork Adobo with Pineapple-

There it is! Another simple yet interesting pork dish of Filipinos. Do it and be proud of it. Enjoy!

This is my entry to BOB's Banquet Pork Recipe on Facebook. If you want to join, click BOB's Banquet and be a fan of them because they offer an array of simple and mostly requested party dishes arranged in a tastefully elegant buffet set-up at a minimal cost. They are located in Marikina, the place where we live.

You can email them at bobs.banquet@yahoo.com if you are planning to have a party that is affordable yet delicious.