Pork Adobo is the satisfaction of the Philippines – one chew and also you’ll be hooked! Meltingly tender pork is gradual cooked till fall-apart in an intense soy-garlic sauce that reduces all the way down to a glaze, then served over steaming rice. That is meals so good but so easy to make, you’ll be shaking your head in disbelief.
The Filipino are genius!
Adobo is the nationwide dish of the Philippines, and so they have each motive to be happy with it! It’s a dish comprised of pork chunks braised in a garlic-soy flavoured liquid that reduces down into an intense flavoured glaze-like sauce. The pork is fork-tender, stained a wealthy mahogany color, and when it’s served over a pile of scorching steamed rice, you’ll perceive why this can be a nationwide treasure.
At its coronary heart, it’s a easy, homely dish, and therein lies the genius – that one thing really easy with so few substances may be so unbelievable. It’s a one-pot recipe that’s hands-off, and the sauce simply requires pantry staples – soy, garlic, onion, vinegar, sugar, pepper and bay leaves.
Oh, and pork! 😅
Recipe credit score goes to my brother Goh – RecipeTin’s tech wizard and ace of world meals recipe growth! He’s sacrificed his waistline consuming his method by means of numerous Adobos within the Philippines and Sydney, in pursuit of making our good Pork Adobo I’ve been chasing for years.
inform me about filipino adobo!
Adobo is the nationwide dish of the Philippines, and the nation’s best-known meals export. There are literally many dishes known as “adobo” within the Philippines – some have coconut milk, some are soupy whereas others are dry-style and glazed, like my Rooster Adobo, a protracted standing reader favorite and doubtless the kind of Adobo most individuals outdoors the Philippines are aware of.
What pork adobo tastes like – The traditional and commonest adobo is made with the important thing substances of soy, vinegar and a contact of sugar. Like many conventional meals, Adobo is a kind of dishes the place each family makes it their very own method, to their very own tastes, and immediately’s model is how we prefer it. We choose Adobo with a extra rounded flavour the place it’s principally savoury with simply sufficient vinegar for brightness with out being overly bitter (some restaurant are so bitter!) and never too candy (once more, some eating places are tooth-achingly candy!).
The Adobo sauce has an intense flavour which is the best way it’s alleged to be: on the stronger facet however with out being overly salty. The thought is you eat Adobo with loads of rice and serve with modest quantities of sauce fairly than drowning your rice in sauce.
Elements in Pork Adobo
Right here’s what you might want to make Pork Adobo. I guess you’ve acquired all of the sauce substances in your pantry proper now! Pineapple is elective – learn under for background (sure, some Filipino recipes have it!).
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Pork meat – Pork stomach is the most typical lower used for pork adobo, however I personally choose pork shoulder for a similar fall-apart-juicy meat however much less fatty. Shank/knuckle or forequarter chop meat additionally works rather well. Pork neck/scotch is superb too however scale back simmering time to 1 hour (it doesn’t want gradual cooking as lengthy).
Minimize the pork shoulder into massive 6 – 7cm / 2.5″ cubes. Bigger is best in order that they don’t turn out to be “fall-apart” too shortly. Longer and slower prepare dinner = extra tender, juicier meat and higher flavour within the sauce.
Different proteins – Sure, this recipe can be utilized for different gradual cooking proteins. See FAQ! For rooster, use my Rooster Adobo recipe.
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Soy sauces – The mild soy sauce is the first soy used right here which provides salt and umami with out an awesome soy flavour. The darkish soy sauce darkens the color of the sauce to nearly black. Darkish soy is kind of intense so we don’t want a lot – only one 1/2 teaspoons.
You possibly can substitute the darkish soy with extra mild soy sauce, however don’t substitute the sunshine soy with darkish soy sauce as a result of it would too darkish and too intense, it would destroy the dish! Extra about distinction soy sauces right here.
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Brown sugar – This gives the sweetness within the sauce. White sugar can be utilized as a substitute although brown is best as a result of it provides a smidge of caramel-y flavour. Honey will also be substituted however scale back amount to 2 1/2 tablespoons.
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Rice vinegar – The addition of vinegar is what makes adobo distinctive and distinctly Filipino. It provides spine and sharpens the sauce, however in a rounded method because the lengthy braising softens the acidity. Be at liberty to make use of different kinds of vinegar. White wine, apple cider, or plain outdated white vinegar will all work. Vinegars can differ quite a bit of their depth, amongst sorts in addition to even manufacturers. So begin with the quantity per the recipe, then style in the direction of the tip of cooking. For those who choose just a little extra sharpness, you possibly can add a teaspoon at a time to style.
Some adobos are intentionally fairly tangy, however we choose a gentler acidity. We use simply sufficient to carry brightness with out being overly bitter. We sampled some from eating places that had been so bitter, we discovered it was an excessive amount of and troublesome to eat!
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Black peppercorns – Entire peppercorns are conventional however not important in my opinion. For those who don’t like biting into entire peppercorns (I personally love the spicy pops!), you possibly can both add an excellent pinch of floor black pepper, or go away it out.
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Pineapple – Pricey Filipinos, I do know, I do know. That is NOT a quite common ingredient in conventional pork adobo. Nonetheless I noticed it included in just a few fashionable variations and admittedly, after making an attempt it I fell in love with it as an addition. It gives a scrumptious candy and recent counterpoint to the richly-flavoured pork and sauce, to not point out some welcome color to what’s in any other case a uniformly brown dish (no shade at brown dishes, in fact!!)
If you will get your fingers on freshly lower pineapple in fact that’s finest. In any other case, canned pineapple does a superbly acceptable job and is what I take advantage of. I like greater chunks lower from rings, however smaller pre-cut items can even do high-quality if that’s all you might have.
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Bay leaves – You wouldn’t consider bay leaves as having a spot in South East Asian cooking! This can be a legacy of the Spanish colonial affect on Filipino delicacies. They’re elective when you don’t have any. Recent is best when you can (it’s a wonderful low-maintenance plant, if you wish to develop your individual!), else dried is ok.
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Water – Not proven. Sorry. As a result of I do know you’ve acquired some! (I’m speaking common faucet water right here, not a flowery hard-to-find Filipino water!)
The right way to make pork adobo
It’s an extremely low-effort recipe. Extra nationwide dishes have to be this hands-off! 😁
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Sear – Utilizing a big heavy based mostly pot, sear the pork in two batches over excessive warmth till properly golden throughout. Take about 4 minutes to do every batch, turning as wanted to sear both sides and get some good golden color on it. Take away to a bowl and reserve residual fats within the pot.
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Sauté the onion till it softens, including the garlic in the direction of the tip.
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Braising liquid – Add the water, soy sauces, vinegar, sugar, bay leaves and peppercorns. Return the pork and any meat juices gathered within the bowl to the liquid. Carry it to a boil, then decrease the warmth so the liquid is simmering gently (ie. just a few slow-ish bubbles, not speedy small bubbles). Extra light warmth = extra light cooking = extra succulent meat.
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Sluggish prepare dinner 1 1/2 hours – Partially cowl the pot with a lid – by this, I imply place the lid on off centre to go away a crack about 2cm / 1″ – and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours or till the pork is tender and may simply be pried aside. If it’s nonetheless not tender, maintain simmering till it’s!
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Proof of crumble pork!
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Take away the pork with a slotted spoon (it’s okay if the onion stays).
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Scale back sauce – Then improve the warmth and boil the sauce to cut back all the way down to about 1 1/2 cups (375 ml), about 8 minutes. The precise time this takes will differ, it will depend on how a lot liquid you begin with, energy of range and so forth.
Adobo sauce thickness and flavour – It ought to be like a skinny syrup, it received’t thicken, with an intense flavour – that is the best way it’s alleged to be. The thought is you eat adobo with loads of rice and serve with modest quantities of sauce fairly than drowning your rice in sauce.
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Serve – Add the pork and pineapple into the decreased sauce and stir for a couple of minutes simply to warmth by means of. Then over jasmine rice, garnished with inexperienced onions!
How and what to serve with Pork Adobo
With Pork Adobo, the thought is: a number of steaming rice in your plate, a modest quantity of that intense flavoured sauce, and items of pork that you just break so it “falls aside” earlier than scooping up with a spoon for max flavour in each chew. Within the Philippines, fork-and-spoon consuming is the norm – good for Adobo consuming!
I’ve used plain jasmine rice right here, however any rice works, and garlic fried rice (sinangag) is a well-liked improve – – right here’s my garlic rice recipe, not strictly Filipino however comparable flavour.
Add one thing recent to chop the richness – smashed cucumbers is at all times a winner, plain undressed tomato and cucumber wedges (very South East Asian), my trusty Asian Facet Salad or a crunchy Asian Slaw (the freshness of the mint could be pretty with Pork Adobo!).
Take pleasure in! – Nagi x
FAQ – Pork Adobo
Sure – this can be a conventional pork adobo. It makes use of the traditional core substances you’ll discover in the most typical Filipino variations: pork, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, onion, sugar, black pepper, and bay leaves. The tactic can also be genuine – browning the meat, then slow-braising it till tender whereas the sauce reduces to a shiny glaze.
Nonetheless, we do decide to make use of pork shoulder which, although used within the Philippines, will not be as widespread as pork stomach. And our model additionally contains pineapple which isn’t strictly old-school conventional although you do see it in some fashionable variations (we tried it with and with out and there’s no query – we find it irresistible with pineapple!).
Sure. The tactic on this recipe is good for any slow-cooking lower of meat and is straightforward to adapt – simply braise per the recipe till the meat is fork tender, take it out, then scale back the sauce. I feel pork is the very best for the sauce flavour, although beef would even be pretty and truly, I feel it will be good with lamb too – the robust meat flavour will maintain as much as the extraordinary flavoured sauce fairly properly!
For those who’re considering rooster, use my Rooster Adobo recipe – it cooks a lot sooner, in a pan as a substitute of a pot.
Not advisable for this one sadly. It’s such a easy sauce, and watery one at that, so getting the flavour depends on the caramelisation you get in the course of the gradual cooking stage on the floor and edges of the liquid which then intensifies when the sauce is decreased. I do know that in a gradual cooker this may actually lack depth of flavour.
This recipe was created by my brother Goh – RecipeTin’s resident tech wizard and, unofficially, our king of world meals recipe growth. Whereas he’s the brains behind every thing IT for RecipeTin Eats and RecipeTin Meals, he’s equally obsessive about meals. He’s the form of one who will strive his hand at Thomas Keller’s butter-poached lobster, tediously decide crab meat for from-scratch ravioli, can learn and perceive menus in 12 completely different languages, and famously spent most of his twenties saving to dine at a flowery restaurant annually.
His favorite sport is searching down Sydney’s finest hole-in-the-wall joints (his reside meals map is a factor of legend) and he’s additionally the man who unapologetically balances all that appreciation of lovely meals with an equally profound appreciation of the Golden Arches and Colonel Sanders.😅
In the case of conventional Asian recipes, Goh is my go-to for fact-checking, tasting, or growing recipes completely from scratch – as with this Pork Adobo. Understanding I’d been desirous to share “our good Adobo” for years, he ate his method by means of numerous variations when he not too long ago visited the Philippines, then extra right here in Sydney (some so unappealing they had been nearly instructional – sauces too thick, too bitter, too candy, meat too dry). These less-than-perfect meals formed precisely what we didn’t need, and it didn’t take lengthy for Goh and JB to nail a model that was every thing we did need – savoury, balanced, fall-apart tender pork, and a sauce simply intense sufficient.
The actual enjoyable was within the growth course of – heated WhatsApp debates, shuttling samples between homes, dashing over a freshly made batch as a result of “it’s important to strive it whereas it’s scorching!”, and prolonged arguments about sauce discount (“Can a sauce be too intense?” – sure there’s such a factor, we determined). It’s that blend of Goh’s technical precision, culinary curiosity, and love of flavour that made this Pork Adobo working with JB and I that led to this recipe – the proper Pork Adobo I’d at all times dreamed of sharing!
A lot of the recipe was created based mostly our common information we’ve garnered through the years about Adobo and from the Rooster Adobo I shared some years in the past. As a point out within the above FAQ, it’s not a tough recipe (there’s not that many substances in Adobo!), it’s nearly balancing the flavours to realize the proper stability.
Each time we share significantly conventional recipes, we do extensively scour the web to see “what others are doing”, extra out of common curiosity and observe widespread themes. The recipes we principally referenced are:
As famous above, we additionally acquired samples from Sydney eating places however I don’t wish to identify them as a result of neither had been excellent, I’m unhappy to report.
Goh additionally tried adobos from numerous places in Manila, together with road markets and in style conventional Filipino eating places.
Watch how you can make it
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Pork Adobo
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook dinner: 2 hours
Fundamental
Filipino
Servings4 – 5 folks
Faucet or hover to scale
Elements
Non-compulsory pineapple (Be aware 4):
Stop display screen from sleeping
Directions
ABBREVIATED:
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Brown pork, take away, sauté onion and garlic, add every thing else. Return pork, carry to boil, gradual prepare dinner 1 1/2 hours till fall-apart. Caramelise pineapple items. Take away pork, scale back sauce to 1 1/2 cups (375 ml), stir in pork and caramelised pineapple till warmed. Serve over rice!
FULL RECIPE:
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Sear pork – Warmth the oil in a big heavy based mostly pot over excessive warmth. Sear half the pork till golden throughout – about 4 minutes – then take away right into a bowl. Repeat with remaining pork, add to the bowl.
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Sauté – Scale back warmth to medium. Add the onion, prepare dinner for two minutes. Add garlic and prepare dinner for an additional minute till the onion is softened.
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Braising liquid – Add water, soy sauces, vinegar, sugar, peppercorns and bay leaves. Stir. Add the pork again in, together with any juices gathered within the bowl.
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Sluggish prepare dinner 1 1/2 hours – Carry to a boil, then partially cowl with a lid (go away a 2cm / 1″ crack) and scale back the warmth to low/medium low so the liquid is simmering very, very gently. (Be aware 4) Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or till the pork is fall-apart tender (maintain simmering if not tender).
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Caramelise pineapple – Whereas pork is simmering, warmth the oil in a non-stick pan over medium warmth. Unfold the pineapple out in a single layer and prepare dinner both sides till golden, about 4 minutes both sides (I take advantage of spatula + tongs to show). Take away onto plate till required.
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Scale back sauce – Take away pork with a slotted spoon (onion and so forth does not matter when it is in or out). Improve warmth to excessive and boil to cut back the liquid all the way down to 1 1/2 cups – it is going to be a really skinny syrup (it is not alleged to be thick), about 7 to 10 minutes.
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Coat pork – Scale back warmth to low. Add the pork and pineapple items, plus any juices within the bowl. Stir gently to coat within the sauce and heat the pork by means of once more.
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Serve over jasmine rice, garnished with inexperienced onion if utilizing.
Recipe Notes:
Different proteins – Different stewing cuts will work nice, see FAQ for instructions. For rooster, see Rooster Adobo.
2. Soy sauces – Mild soy gives the salt and a contact of darkish soy makes the sauce an attractive wealthy darkish brown color. You possibly can substitute the darkish soy with extra mild soy sauce, however don’t sub the sunshine soy with darkish soy sauce as a result of it’s so intense, it would destroy the dish!
3. The peppercorns are a bit spicy once you chew into them, although the spiciness dials down fairly a bit in the course of the gradual cooking time. Some individuals are bothered by them, I really like them! You possibly can omit if you would like, or sub with 1/4 tsp floor black pepper added in the direction of the tip.
4. Pineapple isn’t strictly conventional – it’s probably a contemporary variation – although it’s included in Filipino recipes. We LOVE the visible curiosity, and the refreshing and candy aspect it provides to stability the salty/bitter flavours and fatty meat, so we included it nevertheless it’s completely elective.
5. Simmering energy – The bubbles ought to be small and mild, not speedy and huge. The extra light the simmer, the slower the pork cooks, the extra tender and juicy it’s!
6. Sluggish cooker not advisable for this recipe sadly, it would lack flavour as you received’t get any floor caramelisation throughout gradual cooking stage.
Leftovers will maintain for 4 days within the fridge, or 3 months within the freezer.
Diet per serving assuming 5 servings, excluding rice. Assumes all sauce is consumed.
Diet Data:
Energy: 357cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 25g (8%)Protein: 28g (56%)Fats: 16g (25%)Saturated Fats: 4g (25%)Polyunsaturated Fats: 3gMonounsaturated Fats: 9gTrans Fats: 0.03gLdl cholesterol: 82mg (27%)Sodium: 1502mg (65%)Potassium: 642mg (18%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 20g (22%)Vitamin A: 80IU (2%)Vitamin C: 11mg (13%)Calcium: 68mg (7%)Iron: 3mg (17%)
Lifetime of Dozer
Ah. So that is what it feels prefer to be dethroned by your individual darn canine.😅 Row, Row, Row (with Monsters) that includes Dozer takes over my very own cookbooks within the charts – go Dozer, go!
For many who missed the thrilling announcement on Friday, Dozer is starring in a kids’s ebook written by Adam Simpson known as Row, Row, Row your Boat (With Monsters). Pre-orders had been introduced final Friday, the ebook lands in shops (or in your doorstep!) on 11 November 2025, and the creator is donating all his royalties to a meals charity. 🥰 You perceive now why it was a straightforward YES! when the creator requested if I’d prefer to be concerned!
