This popular dish, Adobo, is the national dish of the Philippines. It is a native Filipino dish, but was somewhat influenced by the Spaniards and Chinese. This influence is reflected by its name, and by simply having soy sauce as one of its ingredients. It is easy to cook, but because of the combination of vinegar, garlic and soy sauce, its aroma will surely make your mouth water once you try this recipe. Adobo is always served with steamed rice. Either pork or chicken maybe used, though different variations exist that use fish and vegetables.
Prep Time: 45 to 85 minutes, 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
1/4 c. vinegar
2-3 bay leaves
1 tsp. grnd black pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 lbs pork, cut up in 1 1/2 inch wide by 2 inches long
1 tbsp white or brown sugar is okay
2-3 bay leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 cups of water or as needed
Instructions:
In a frying pan, saute garlic until golden brown. Add pork and saute until brown and until water has dried. Add in black pepper, soy sauce and sugar. Simmer until soy sauce is absorbed by the meat. Continue mixing, add water to simmer until pork is tender. When sauce becomes thick, add vinegar. Simmer again for 5-8 minutes. Add hard boiled eggs. Serve with steamed rice.
Notes/Tips:
You may add as many as hard-boiled eggs you want. For the four of us in the family, I would normally use 6-8 pieces.
If you add the vinegar in the early stages of cooking it will make the pork tenderize longer. Make sure that vinegar is added only after the meat has tenderized.
This dish is a good source of protein, especially for those people on a low carbohydrate diet.
This can be cooked with chicken, or a combination of pork and chicken.
When selecting vinegar, try to find native palm vinegar available at an Asian grocery store. If not, use apple cider vinegar.
About the Author:
We have a wide collection of Filipino recipes available at Foodipino.com. Ben Santones is a Filipino born and raised in the Philippines but now live in Tracy, CA. He is the creator of Foodipino.com, which aims to share Filipino recipes to people around the world.
