Pork Belly Adobo (Filipino)
"Adobo" means marinade, sauce, or seasoning in Spanish and is a native cooking method in the Philippines, often called their unofficial national dish. This variation uses pork belly for incredibly tender, melt-in-your-mouth results.
🍳 Cook: 45 min
Ingredients
| 800 g | Pork belly slices | |
| 1 bulb | Garlic | |
| 3 pieces | Bay leaf | |
| 1.5 tbsp | 23 ml | Black peppercorns |
| 0.25 cup | 60 ml | Light soy sauce |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | Red cane vinegar |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | Canola oil |
| 2 | Shallot, sliced | |
| 0.25 cup | 60 ml | Brown sugar |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | Water |
| 2 | Red chilli | |
| — | White rice (to serve) | |
| — | Fried egg (to serve) | |
| — | Spring onions (to serve) |
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine pork belly, garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorns, soy sauce, and vinegar. Mix well and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a wok over medium heat. Pan-fry the pork slices in batches until nicely browned and caramelised; set aside.
- In the same pan, add the shallots and sauté until fragrant.
- Return the pork belly to the pan. Pour in the leftover marinade, add brown sugar and water, and stir well.
- Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
- Add red chillies and reduce the sauce to desired thickness.
- Spoon the pork over a bowl of rice and top with a fried egg and chopped spring onions if desired.
Alternatives: for red cane vinegar use rice vinegar; for canola oil, any neutral cooking oil (vegetable, sunflower, peanut, or coconut) works.