Okay. Yum.

Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines and there are so many variations why? because it depends on regionality, taste, to what meat or ingredients you can access. That’s the beauty of Adobo and the origins of cooking with vinegar were adapted from our Spanish settlers.

Adobo is primarily a dish using garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and vinegar to cook with. When Chinese settlers come to the Philippines, the use of soy sauce was then introduced into the cuisine. You will now find most popular versions of Adobo around the Philippines with these main components: Soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns, garlic and bay leaves.

However, there are still many different variations to date and you can find a plethora of different variations across regions and all the islands. Different variations you might find include ginger and turmeric from the North of Luzon in Laguna, added pineapple, to adding coconut milk in Adobo. You can also get different types of Adobo in the protein used from qquid, chicken to pork. Now, with more Filipinos eating less meat you will find meat free options using items such as Tofu to young Jackfruit.

This recipe is a sweet and sticky version with perfectly caramelized nuggets of pork belly. Eat with some greens and rice (obvs!) for a delicious and naughty meal.

Recipe feeds 2-3 people.

Ingredients:

500g Pork Belly slices chopped into chunky cubes

1 x Onion thinly sliced

2x Bay leaves

5x Garlic cloves minced

Handful of whole black peppercorns crushed

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Sweet Soy/Ketchap Manis (if you don’t have this use 1tbsp dark soy sauce and 1 tbsp brown sugar)

3 tbsp Vinegar (use white distilled/coconut vinegar)

200ml Water

Method:
1. In a pan get some veg oil hot and sear off your pork belly pieces till golden brown on each side.
2. Add your onions, garlic, bay leaves, crushed peppercorns to the pan and sauté till the onions get a nice colour on them.
3. Add the soy, sweet soy, vinegar to the pan and stir everything so it’s all mixed in well. Turn the heat down to a medium simmer.
4. Add the water to your mix of pork and aromatics, covering the Adobo with the lid. You will need to simmer this for about 35-40 minutes till the Pork Belly is cooked. Keep checking so that the pork isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan, add water if needed. Use this to prep your veg and rice.
5. Once the pork is cooked through, take the pan lid off and turn the heat up a bit. You want to reduce the sauce and thicken it to give a glossy coating on the pork. Taste the sauce and adjust to your liking by adding more salt or sugar for balance. Adobo is all about how you like it and that’s the beauty of it!

Garnish your Pork Belly as you please but I love to garnish with fresh garnishes such as chillies, coriander and spring onion. Enjoy!

Sticky Filipino pork belly Adobo