Pork Adobo Recipe

When my husband was in the mortgage business, one of his Filipino clients sent him home with some Pork Adobo made by Aunty.  A little bit of sweet and tons of 'ono, it was, by far, the best Adobo I have ever had. It was so good, I sucked on the pieces of fat to get all the gravy I could. Gross, I know, but it was that good.

I have tried a bunch of Adobo recipes and this one comes the closest to Aunty's.  It comes from Hawaii's Best Local Dishes by Jean Watanabe Hee (Mutual Publishing, 2002). 

Pork Adobo*

3 pounds pork, cut into cubes

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup shoyu

1 tsp brown sugar (I put 1 Tbsp)

2 Tbsp peppercorns, crush about half (1 tsp might be better; we were spitting out peppercorns left and right)

5 cloves garlic, crushed

3 bay leaves

salt to season

Combine all ingredients in a pan; cover and marinate 1 to 3 hours. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove cover and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the pork is lightly brown.

* It's actually Ms. Hee's Chicken Adobo Recipe, but it looked like it would taste more like Aunty's than the Pork Adobo recipe.

I don't know how people who blog manage to cook and take pictures at the same time. Here are pics of the completed dish on hot rice.