Pork Adobo

Recipe ⬇️ or print: https://www.recipetineats.com/filipino-pork-adobo/

**Filipinos - how'd we do? :) **

Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines, and for good reason! Every household makes it their own way, but this one is a classic – soy, vinegar, a touch of sugar – balanced so it’s mostly savoury, bright with just enough vinegar, and not overly sweet. The sauce is strong in flavour, as it should be, but not too salty – perfect for spooning over plenty of rice without drowning it.

Recipe credit goes to my brother Goh – RecipeTin’s tech wizard and kingpin of ethnic recipe development! He’s sacrificed his waistline eating his way through countless Adobos in the Philippines and Sydney, all to help me finally nail the version I’ve been chasing for years.

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Pork Adobo

1 kg/ 2 lb pork shoulder (my preference, use fat-ribboned parts) or belly, skinless, cut into 6cm/2.5″ cubes
2 tbsp vegetable oil, or any other neutral flavoured oil
1 large onion, cut in half then 0.8″ / 1/3″ wedges
8 cloves garlic, finely sliced
3 cups water (750ml)
1/2 cup light soy sauce (125ml), sub all-purpose soy (do NOT sub with dark soy)
1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (sub more light soy)
1/4 cup rice vinegar (60ml), sub regular white vinegar
3 tbsp (tightly packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp black peppercorns, can omit (sub 1/4 tsp ground pepper added at end)
5 bay leaves, preferably fresh, dried ok too
OPTIONAL PINEAPPLE*:
6 pineapple rings, each cut into 8 pieces, from canned pineapple in juice not syrup, or 2 cups fresh pineapple pieces
2 tsp vegetable oil, or any other neutral flavoured oil
SERVING:
1 green onion, finely sliced
Jasmine rice, or any other rice of choice (garlic rice would be amazing!)

1. Heat the oil in large heavy based pot on high heat. Brown pork on all sides in two batches, remove. Sauté onion and garlic, add everything else. Return pork, bring to boil, then reduce heat so it’s simmering very gently. Partially cover with lid, clow cook 1.5 – 2 hrs until pork is fork tender.
2. Meanwhile, caramelise pineapple pieces in non-stick pan (3 min each side on med/med-high).
3. Remove pork, from liquid, boil to reduce sauce to 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) ~8 min. Stir in pork and caramelised pineapple until warmed. Serve over rice, garnished with green onions!


* Belly more traditional but is very fatty, I prefer shoulder but must use the fat ribboned parts not the super lean bits. Forequarter pork also works. Scotch pork (neck) is excellent too but reduce braising time to 1 hr. Pineapple not strictly traditional but appears in some Filipino recipes, we love the sweet it adds to the richness/savouriness of the dish.