Filipino slow-cooked pork in a rich soy and garlic sauce. Very tasty but still quite simple.
| Servings | 4 Portions |
| Tags | Family Dinner | Filipino | LunchBox | Main Course | Pork |
| Allergens | Gluten, Soybeans, Wheat |
| Prep Time | 15 min |
| Cook Time | 90 min |
Here is a delicious recipe for Pork Adobo, which is a classic Filipino dish where meat (usually pork belly, but I use pork butt/pork neck here) is braised in a mixture of soy, vinegar, sugar, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper. The sauce is then reduced almost to a glaze and the result is a tasty, sour and slightly salty stew that is traditionally served with rice.
It is more traditional to use pork belly, but I think it is just as good with pork butt/pork neck, which you can often find cheaper here. You can also use other cuts of meat, but then the cooking time may need to be modified slightly. For pork butt, I choose to braise for 40-60 minutes. After 40 minutes, the meat still holds together, which I prefer, but feel free to increase the time and experiment until the desired consistency is achieved. In addition to pork, it is also common to use chicken - e.g. chicken thighs.
One of the most important ingredients is the soy sauce. The thing to keep in mind here is that you MUST use a light variety (e.g. Japanese which is often less salty) and only add a little of a darker (e.g. Chinese) variety. If you only use a dark soy sauce the result will be pitch black and very salty which is not what we are looking for. I used Japanese soy sauce from COOP (125g) and combined it with Mrs Chengs (1.5 tsp) which I thought turned out very well.
As for the vinegar, I've seen a few different options. I use rice vinegar, but other varieties work well too.
Whole peppercorns seem to be more traditional, but can be replaced with ground black pepper instead. I've tried half a teaspoon of ground black pepper which I thought was good.
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Ingredients
Directions
- Cut the meat into 3-6 cm cubes.
- In a frying pan - fry the meat in batches until it has some colour (4-5 minutes). Set the meat aside for now.
- Sauté the sliced onion until it softens and gets some colour (reduce the temperature a bit here if necessary) - add the sliced garlic at the end.
- Put the meat and other ingredients back into the pan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and let everything simmer gently for 40-60 minutes.
- Remove the meat and reduce the liquid thoroughly over high heat. This can take 7-15 minutes depending on the amount of liquid, how powerful the cooker is, etc. The end result should be like a thin syrup.
- Put the meat back in and heat everything up for a few minutes.
- Serve with rice and some sliced spring onions.
Nutrition Facts*
| Total | Serving | 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 2346.03 kcal | 586.51 kcal | 104 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 81.43 g | 20.36 g | 3.61 g |
| Fat | 140.99 g | 35.25 g | 6.25 g |
| Protein | 192.42 g | 48.1 g | 8.53 g |
| Sugar | 48.27 g | 12.07 g | 2.14 g |
| Salt | 20.3 g | 5.08 g | 0.90 g |
* The nutritional information provided is approximated and calculated using the ingredients available in the database. Info will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
