Pork Adobo

A week or so ago I made another childhood dish, Chicken Adobo. I didn’t blog about it since the photos turned out so horribly – the taste, was a different story. I need to be on the quest to make Filipino food more pleasing to the eye. While making the adobo, I have to say that the tastes and smells brought me back to the old kitchen in the house I grew up in. I, personally hadn’t made chicken adobo for probably over 15 years. My mom actually cooked it at least once a week when I was growing up.

The technique is simple (braising) and it gets better the next day. The ingredients are simple, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Tonight I decided to change the protien out and use pork. I really wanted to do pork ribs, but didn’t find any that I liked at Fresh N Easy. So I did bone-in pork chops instead. I had to braise it a bit longer than chicken and I found that there is this magic moment when the meat starts to fall off the bone and be the most tender meat. Served over fresh rice, it sure is a pleaser.

INGREDIENTS

6 skin-on bone in chicken thighs/1 rack of pork ribs
3/4 cup Kikkoman Lite Soy sauce
3/4 cup White vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons whole peppercorns
1 whole head garlic, peeled
3 bay leaves, cracked in half

DIRECTIONS

1. Take the garlic cloves and give them a good smash, but keep them whole. Add your protien (chicken or pork) and place into your pot.

2. For chicken, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes covered. Then uncover and continue cooking until the chicken is tender and the liquid has reduced some. Turn the pieces from time to time. You’ll know its ready when the meat starts to fall off the bone.

2a. For pork, same instructions as the chicken but you’ll have to braise a bit longer as the meat is more tough than chicken. I had to do mine for over an hour – keep the lid closed. There will be a moment when the meat is tender and falls off the bone. Then take the lid off and allow liquid to reduce. Oh, if you’re buying a small rack of pork ribs, cut them down to two-three rib pieces when cooking.

3. Take off the heat and serve over fresh hot rice.

Add some sauce to the rice and enjoy!