Pictured with steamed brown rice and a spinach & tomato salad with roasted sesame dressing.

One of the revelations I got from reading “Memories of Philippine Kitchens” (hereinafter referred to as MPK) is that Adobo, a stew typically seasoned with vinegar, bay leaves, pepper, garlic, and soy sauce or salt, is actually a native Filipino dish, meaning it pre-dates Spanish colonial rule. I always thought that because of the name, it must have been one of the many dishes that Filipinos picked up and adapted from the Spanish. But apparently the dish just reminded the Spanish of a condiment called Adobo, a name they also gave to a vinegar-seasoned dish from Mexico. Anyway, my sense of national pride swelled, because Filipino Adobo is ridiculously delicious, not to mention simple to make, so I’m glad it’s OG.

In the Philippines, the word Adobo refers specifically to how the food (whether it’s pork, chicken, vegetables, or whatever else you want to throw in) is seasoned. You could make Spam Adobo as long as you seasoned it with vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic (but I wouldn’t recommend it). There are as many variations on Adobo as there are Filipinos who cook, so feel free to experiment. Some people like to thicken the sauce with coconut milk, corn starch, or flour. My mom will often add chunks of potatoes to the pot, which absorb the sauce and are hence ridiculously tasty.

Right before I made the recipe below, I had just tried out a French stew called Beef Burgundy, which is cooked in the oven rather than on the stove top. The process heats the whole pot more evenly and intensifies the flavors in the sauce, so I thought I’d try that technique with Adobo and see what happened. What happened? The richest, most flavorful Pork Adobo ever (except for yours, Nanay!)

Pork Adobo Braised in a Dutch Oven

  • 2 Tbs cooking oil (for browning meat; I used peanut oil)
  • 3 lbs pork, cut into chunks
  • 2 Tbs flour
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • As much garlic as you can take (I used 12 cloves), peeled
  • 1 cup vinegar (I like rice vinegar, MPK recommends cider vinegar for pork; my mom uses balsamic, which gives the sauce a deep, rich, red-brown color. Be aware that different vinegars have different levels of acidity, and so you will need to adjust the amount accordingly)
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup water or stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 or 2 jalape˜os (optional), seeded and sliced in half
  • 2 Tbs red peppercorns or 2 tsp black (I used a red, French-Indian peppercorn I found at at Uwajimaya. I like them because they become soft and mild when cooked, so if you bite into one by mistake you don’t even notice, whereas picking out black peppercorns from Adobo can be a little annoying, and biting into one even more so. My mom strains the sauce through a sieve to remove the peppercorns after cooking, but that also takes out the mushy garlic and onions, which I love. You could also use ground black pepper, if you are a complete wuss.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pat the meat dry. In large frying pan set on the stove over medium-high heat, fry the meat in batches until each piece is nicely browned on all sides. Remove pork to a dutch oven or other oven-proof dish with a tight-fitting lid. Sprinkle with the flour and toss gently so all pieces are coated.  Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring gently about halfway through  (this ensures there will be a nice crust on the outside of the meat, and the flour will also thicken the sauce slightly. If you don’t care about those things, you can skip this step.) Remove the meat to a platter and reduce the oven heat to 325 degrees.

Transfer 2 Tbs of the rendered fat from the frying pan to the dutch oven and place over medium-high heat on the stove. Fry the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute or so until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients, and bring mixture to a boil. Add the meat, cover, and bake for about 2 hours, until meat is very tender.

At this point, you can remove the meat to a platter, optionally strain the sauce into a pot, and place the pot on medium-high heat while you skim the fat off the top and let it reduce a bit. Or you can just eat that shit, fat and peppercorns and all, for deep OG Filipino experience. Serve over steamed rice, and don’t forget your vegetables.