Ground Pork Menudo

 

It's been awhile since I posted a Filipino recipe so I thought that I will share one today. This is quite an old recipe which I posted on my old blog and you can see that with the photo - I didn't know anything about photo composition yet - point and shoot is what I did then! However, don't worry it would still look like this when you cook it - though perhaps a newer photo may do justice to the recipe.

Arroz Caldo (Savory Chicken and Rice Porridge)

Oh Arroz Caldo...it's been so long since I had a bowl of this thick and delicious Savory Chicken and Rice Porridge that's similar to the Chinese congee. I think we named it Arroz Caldo as a result of our being colonized by Spain (hence the Spanish name) though if it's a meatless or plain savory rice porridge we just call it "lugaw" - a Filipino term.

Chicken with Creamed Corn

There are definitely days when you simply don't have the time to cook an elaborate meal no matter how much you want to. When this happens I am glad that I have a few recipes that I can easily whip up, which don't take too much time to make and with ingredients that I usually keep in my pantry. This Chicken with Creamed Corn is one of my staples. My mom always made this in the Philippines and everyone who've tried this often asks for the recipe.

Oven Roasted Lechon

Ask any Pinoy what they would like to see served in any fiesta or celebration and for sure, majority will tell you --- LECHON! That's pork roast for you - but it's not just your ordinary pork roast - it's an entire pig roast. It's not so much the meat that everyone goes crazy for, although it's definitely what I love, - it's  actually the crispy skin (like a pork crackling) that everyone wants to get hold of first. And you better be first in line or it's gone before you know it. :-) If you've ever had lechon - you'll know why. The skin is just crispy and crunchy when you bite it and is so full of flavor too (not to mention the fat and cholesterol -- so beware!!!). Of course, no lechon is complete with out the "sarsa" and traditionally, we rely on Mang Tomas (see photo) for the sauce to dip your lechon skin or meat in. I don't have a homemade sauce yet so for now I have been using Mang Tomas as my sauce but you can always just make an ordinary pork gravy to go with your lechon too.

While Lechon is not for the faint-hearted - well there's a lot of calories and fat in it for sure - I'd like to enjoy it on special occasions, after all even in the Philippines you don't eat this on a daily basis but usually for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries...etc. I have tried a lechon recipe before and though I was happy with it - the skin was not crispy at all. It was soft and not what you expect in a lechon - no crunch at all....

After scouring the internet, I found this super-simple recipe for Lechon sa Hurno (Oven Roasted Pork) and decided to give it a try hoping that as it promised it will give me the crispy skin that I desired. And, wow did it deliver! The skin was super-crispy - like a perfect pork-crackling and even after the next day - after I had placed the left-over roast in the fridge the skin retained it's crispness! How about that?

The only thing I wish to note is the high temp (450F) that it requires  towards the end of cooking - it may be a little too high - my oven was smoking after about 10 minutes so perhaps I will  try 425F next time to see if I can achieve the same results. Or perhaps I will shorten the time from 20-30 minutes (as the original recipe recommends) to only about 15 minutes or less so I don't burn the skin. But apart from this - it is a wonderful and very simple recipe that truly made a great Oven-roasted Lechon. Thanks to Filipino Recipe Site for a great and easy Lechon sa Hurno (Oven-roasted Pork) recipe. Next time you get a picnic ham, try this!

Ingredients 
1 (3 to 5 lbs.) fresh boneless shoulder picnic ham (uncooked)*
Salt, to taste

*I used a 3-pound shoulder picnic ham.

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a roasting pan.

Clean the pork ham/roast with running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Rub generously with salt all over. Note: If your roast has been pre-seasoned or enhanced then go a little easy on the salt. Eyeball it.

Transfer to a roasting pan and bake skin-side up. The length of time will depend on the weight of your roast. Generally, it's about 40 minutes per pound and that is what I followed for my picnic ham. For a 3 lb ham (give a take a few more ounces) it's about 120 minutes or 2 hours.

During the last hour, brush the entire skin/roast with fat drippings from the pan every 15 minutes. Do not skip this because this is what will help make the skin crisp. The original recipe mentions every 10 minutes but I only did about every 15 minutes and still came out great.

Thereafter, increase the oven temperatur to 450°F and continue to roast for another 15-20 minutes or until the skin has blistered and has turned golden brown. I only used a 3-lb ham so 15 minutes was sufficient but it would probably be longer for a bigger ham. The skin should be crispy.  The internal temperature reading using an instant-read meat thermometer should reach about 170°F.

Remove from the oven. Cover with foil and let stand for 5 minutes.
Here is the roast left standing for a few minutes. I actually forgot to cover it with foil but it still came out well.

 

Cut into serving pieces and place into a serving platter. Serve with the sauce of your choice and if you're pinoy - have it with some Sarsa ni Mang Tomas! You can also make a gravy using the drippings. Just add a little flour to thicken the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Delish! 

 

Perfectly cooked picnic ham roast! For the Pinoys, what they covet is not so much the meat but the delicious crispy pork skin! Enjoy your homemade Lechon!

 

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This recipe is featured at Weekend Potluck.



The Philippines and Leche Flan

 

As I was writing this, snow was falling hard outside and though I like looking at the glistening snowflakes they made me think of the warm tropical climate of my archipelago. The shivers down my spine made me long for the sunny days in Manila. Since I needed to write a blog post about Leche Flan I thought I would tie it with some lovely photos of the Philippines.

Of course, when I think "warm" the first thing that comes to mind is the white sandy beaches of Boracay. It's not really warm there - more like "hot!" But the beach which has been named one of the world's best a few times is the main attraction. White and fine as talcum powder, the sand makes walking on the beach not only ideal but truly romantic. Imagine the glorious sunsets and Boracay is well known for that too.

We love Boracay so much that we decided it would be our first stop on our honeymoon tour. 

We went there for our honeymoon in 2003. It wasn't just us though, we brought the entire English entourage including Mark's mom and aunt. Fancy that?  It was fun though! From right to left - Mark, Mark Ellis, Janet (Mark's Aunt), John Rayner, Paul Priest, Margaret (Mark's mom), Abby (me) and the manager of the resort where we stayed in Boracay. We thought that seeing as they had flown that far to attend our wedding, we should take them to Boracay as well!

Another photo of Boracay taken by Mark. He is such a good photographer. He just knows how to capture the right angle and shot.

The two photographs below were taken in Tagaytay where Mark and I got married. It's about an hour drive outside of Manila and is a favorite place to visit during summer for its cooler climate.

This is Taal Lake and Taal Volcano in the middle.

With our first and secondary sponsors during our wedding in Tagaytay overlooking Taal Lake. What a happy day!

Here are just some photos of the place where I spent my childhood. Our town is called Gasan and it is in the province of Marinduque, one of the 7,107 islands of the Philippines.

This is Gasan shoreline, our house is located behind the palm trees in the foreground. When I was growing up I remember my mom buying the first catch of the day from fishermen who just came back from their overnight fishing. Fish straight from the sea....you can't get any fresher than that! Sometimes in the afternoons either after class or during summer time my friends and I ride these little bancas (outriggers) around the shore until the sun sets. Needless to say there was lots of swimming though I must admit I never really learned how to swim properly and almost drowned twice. One time, a friend and I got caught out of our depth. I was able to swim myself but my friend was pulling me under. I really thought that I was going to drown. All I could do was pray - "O Lord, please save me". Thankfully, my father arrived right on time and rescued us both. Amazing. It was in that same ocean where I almost drowned that I was baptized a few months later.

The island you can see in the photograph above is Gaspar Island one of the three islands that belong to my town. Every summer we go to this island for swimming, snorkelling, barbecues and to have some fun!

This is the sand bar that you land in as you approach Gaspar Island. The water is so clean and clear here as you can see. Our little island Marinduque is truly paradise in itself. It will always be my home.

Now about the recipe, Filipinos have a sweet tooth and we always love to eat, too! And one of our favorite desserts is Leche Flan (Creme Caramel) - a classic Filipino dessert. Traditionally, Leche Flan is steamed but here I am baking it instead so it's much easier.

Ingredients

For the caramel topping:

6 Tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 Tablespoons water

Don't forget the llaneras or custard molds/ramekins. I use 2 llaneras (Pinoy oval-shaped tin molds) for this recipe. Have them at hand.

To make the caramel, place the sugar and water in a shallow pan in medium heat. Stir the mixture and cook until the sugar melts and begins to boil. When it starts to really thicken, immediately pour the sugar on the tins/mold.  Divide it evenly between the molds (if using more than 1). Spread it until it covers the bottom of the molds. The caramel should harden immediately. Set aside.

For the custard:

7 egg yolks (8 if your yolks are quite small) - separate them well from the egg whites

1 cup whole milk (2 % milk is fine if that is preferred)

3/4 of a can of condensed milk

Zest of one lemon or 1/4 tsp lemon extract (2 tsps of lemon juice also work)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C.

Whisk together the egg yolks in a big bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.

Pour the mixture in the prepared custard molds or ramekins. Place the molds in a baking dish big enough to hold all. Fill the pan with hot water (hot water from the tap is fine) up to half the height of the molds.

Bake for about 30-35 mins. (Adjust the time depending on the size of molds being used). For my llaneras, 35 minutes is just right. The custard should have set nicely at this point. It will firm up more as you leave it overnight in the fridge.

Cool completely on a rack and then refrigerate. Overnight refrigeration is recommended.

To serve, run a thin knife around the mold and then invert onto a plate. Enjoy such creamy deliciousness! By the way, I used a heart cookie cutter to achieve the heart shape but you can of course use a heart-shaped mold if you have one.

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Lumpiang Shanghai or Filipino Spring Rolls are traditionally made of ground meat (usually pork), minced onions, finely chopped carrots and seasoning all rolled up in a paper thin wrapper made with flour and water. It is sealed at the end either by using  a sticky beaten egg or plain water.

By the name it is given, you can almost guess that it has its origins in China though for some reason we haven't dropped the "Shanghai" at the end and continues to use it to this day. I suppose the reason for this is to differentiate this from the other kind of Lumpia which uses mostly vegetables (though occasionally with a little meat tucked in) as filling. So when you simply say Lumpia, people will tend to think you mean the plumper and bigger spring roll rather than the "Shanghai" which is a smaller and meatier one.

In the Philippines, perhaps next to Pancit, Lumpiang Shanghai has got to be the most common dish you will find in any kind of celebration - whether it be a wedding, birthday, reunion or a simple get-together. The reason is that it can be made in bulk and ahead of time! True, it takes a bit of effort to make it (fancy making spring rolls for an hour or 2?) but when you make a lot of it - you don't need to make other extra dishes because everyone goes for the spring rolls! Besides, since you can actually make this at least a day ahead or even weeks ahead if you freeze them, then it's actually a very practical dish to make. So despite some labor required it does save time in the end and less stress in thinking of what other dishes to prepare. So make a huge batch, freeze and serve it whenever you need it!

Of course Lumpiang Shanghai is best eaten with a sauce. I usually prefer the sweet chili sauce, the kind that you find in any Asian store. In the Philippines though, it is often served with our favorite ketchup - Jufran Banana Ketchup! Yes, such a ketchup exists and I love it!

I always pre-cook my meat fillings for lumpiang shanghai so I take the guess work out of the equation (did the meat cook properly? did I season the mixture enough?) and my mother always did, so I wanted to play safe too! It maybe a bit labor intensive this way, but at least you’ll be guaranteed the results and no need for the rolls to really soak up all the oil in the deep fryer. Nonetheless, there are lots of ways one can cook lumpiang shanghai and they can all turn out yummy, too. Here’s my version which has always worked for me (even my little tots love it). It’s easy enough to tweak to suit one’s palate. And yes, if you bring this to a party, you'll be the star, well - at least the dish will be! :-)

Here's a quick photo tutorial on how to make the spring rolls. Details of the method can be found on the recipe below. 

Then, fry and enjoy!!!

Don't forget to serve with some chili sauce or even ketchup will do.

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Lumpiang Shanghai (Filipino Spring Rolls)

By: Manila Spoon
November 28, 2012



That these are the best spring rolls is no exaggeration. Whenever I serve these Lumpiang Shanghai, they're gone in seconds. True crunchy deliciousness in every bite. Serve with a sweet chili sauce!

Ingredients

• 1 kilo / 2 pounds ground pork
• 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 small Onions, minced
• 1 big or 2 medium size Carrots, finely chopped
• 5-6 tablespoons Soy sauce or to taste
• 1 Jicama (Singkamas) or a small tub of Water Chestnut, finely chopped (optional – but I do love the extra crunch and flavor either brings!!!)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Oil for frying (enough to cover the rolls)
• 2 packs of paper thin Spring Roll wrappers (can be found in Asian stores), thawed

Instructions

1. Heat a little oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Saute the garlic just until aromatic (less than a minute). Brown the ground pork in the pan and season with a little salt and pepper (just to give the meat a little flavor so go easy with the salt). Stir the meat to prevent clumping.
2. When the meat has changed its color add the onions. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the chopped onions have softened. Add the carrots and season with the soy sauce. Stir to mix. Lower the heat and simmer for about half an hour (to allow the meat to absorb the seasonings). At this point, I add the water chestnuts or jicama and just let it cook for another couple of minutes. Adjust seasoning to your taste. Set aside to cool down. Drain completely to remove any excess liquid. I use a strainer to do this. It should be dry and not dripping with sauce. 
3. Prepare the spring roll wrappers and have a small bowl filled water near you. Place about 1 heaping tablespoon of the cold pork mixture in one of the corners of the wrapper. Spread the filling into the wrapper horizontally. Roll the meat mixture towards the middle. Fold both sides inward to seal, then continue to roll until you have about an inch left of the wrapper. Using your finger, brush the edges with a little water to seal completely. Make sure it is tightly secured. Place the finished roll on a deep baking dish (casserole) with the sealed side downwards. Repeat until all the meat is gone. To ensure that the seal does not open while you are frying it, I keep the rolls overnight in the refrigerator. This way they seal properly and won't open when frying.
4. Before you heat the oil, take the spring rolls out of the fridge so it will be a little warmer when you fry it. (Others have fried it from frozen, I heard). Pour cooking oil (enough to cover the rolls) in a deep pan and turn heat to medium and let heat up for about 10-12 mins. (If you have a deep fryer, preheat to about 350 F). To make sure the oil is hot enough, test one roll and see if it browns quickly. Fry the lumpia in batches until they turn golden brown. This shouldn’t take too long if the oil is hot enough and because they have been previously cooked. Do not overcrowd the rolls to allow them to brown evenly.
5. Place the cooked rolls in a strainer with paper towels to drain the oil while the other rolls are cooking. Transfer the cooked ones in a serving dish. You may again wrap them in paper towels to extract any remaining oil.
6. To double the amount, cut the rolls in half. Serve with sweet chili sauce, a yummy chutney or even plain old ketchup as dip! Yum!

Yield: 60-80 pieces depending on the size
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cooking Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour

Sauteed Butternut Squash with Ground Beef/Pork (Ginisang Kalabasa)

When I was still in the Philippines and living with my family, this dish was on our table every week. We truly love squash in the Philippines and this particular dish can be found in any cafeteria or canteen all over the country. It's a favorite for lunch or dinner! It's also pretty cheap to prepare yet quite nutritious.

I am glad that I am not the only one who enjoys this dish. My husband who I thought would not enjoy this Filipino dish at all absolutely love this! My kids, especially William, love to eat this too.

Often butternut squash is considered more as a dessert ingredient or a side dish usually spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with syrup or brown sugar. However, butternut squash is actually a wonderful accompaniment to meat especially with pork or beef. It's natural sweet flavor complements the meat and marries well with seasonings such as soy sauce or fish sauce. The squash provides some sweetness to an otherwise very savory dish.

I use my Giniling Recipe (Ground Pork Sauté), a basic foundational recipe for a lot of Filipino dishes, for this one. Once you have made it, all you need to do is add the prepared squash and then cook it until tender. A very simple yet truly flavorful dish.


Ingredients

1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into inch-long chunks)

1 Recipe for Giniling (Ground Pork Sauté). Link here.

Procedure

If you plan to use the entire butternut squash, then I suggest using the entire recipe for Ground Pork Sauté. But if you plan to use only half of it, then half the Ground Pork Sauté should be enough. Adjust the amount of the ground pork recipe to how much butternut squash you wish to use.

To the cooked Ground Pork Sauté, add the butternut squash. Cook by simmering until the squash is tender about 10-15 minutes.

Another vegetable that complements squash is green beans or Asian long beans. If you wish to make this combo - cut the beans to about 2 inches in length and then cook it with the squash. Cook until the beans are tender but not mushy. Alternatively, you can opt to just use the beans on its own. The beans are an excellent accompaniment to the Ground Pork Sauté too!

Enjoy with steaming hot rice!

This is featured at Wednesday Extravaganza. and Weekend Potluck.

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Lumpiang Pabo - Turkey Spring Rolls

Since Thanksgiving is getting nearer I thought I'd share my Filipino recipe for Turkey Spring Rolls. This is a wonderful dish if you wish to do something different with your left-over Turkey. You can opt to fry it, as we would normally do, but if you want a healthier, lower-fat version then you can bake them too! As long as it's crispy, it's good! Also, I added some vegetables with the turkey so it's not an all-meat variety, unless that's what you prefer.

Without much ado, here's - Lumpiang Pabo (Filipino) or in English - Turkey Spring Rolls.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

3-4 cups cooked turkey, shredded

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 medium size onion, finely chopped

2 cups cabbage, chopped

1 cup carrots, finely chopped (Baby carrots are handy!)

1 cup bean sprouts

1 tub water chestnuts, chopped (optional)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

A few drops of Sesame oil (optional)
Lumpia Skin (Spring Roll Wrappers) - may be found at any Asian store (use the Filipino brand - the paper-thin variety, if you can find them)

For the Sauce to use for the Stir-Fry

Choices: Hoisin sauce (about 4 Tbsp or to taste), Soy Sauce (beging with 2 Tbsp), Oyster Sauce (begin with 1 Tbsp) or a Soy-Oyster combo. I usually eyeball the sauce so let this serve as a mere guide. Follow your taste buds!

I usually pre-cook all the ingredients before I fry or bake them but it’s not difficult to do so provided you’ve got all the ingredients ready.

Procedure

Heat the oil in a wok or a deep frying  pan in medium heat.

Season the oil by adding the garlic and frying it until aromatic, less than a minute. Add the onion and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.

Place the shredded turkey in the pan and stir-fry just until heated, 2 minutes more or less.

Raise the heat and add the vegetables and continue to stir-fry until tender, roughly 2-3 mins.

Add the sauce of your choice (I used the Hoisin sauce for this one because I wanted a sweeter flavor); stir until all the ingredients are glazed. Season with a little salt and pepper, to taste. Stir-fry until everything's coated and the sauce has dried up.

Once cooked, add a few drops of sesame oil (optional).


Set aside and cool down for a few minutes. Wait until it’s cool enough cause it will break the wrapper if it’s too hot. It should be pretty dry but if not, just drain. It shouldn't be wet.  


How to make the roll:

Completely thaw the lumpia wrappers before using. Note that the wrapper has the tendency to dry out so to avoid this, place a clean damp dish towel on top of the wrappers after thawing. Just lift up the towel everytime you get a new wrapper for rolling and then put it back in place to keep some moisture in.



Have a bowl of water ready. You will use it to seal the edges of the wrapper together.

Place about 1 heaping tablespoon of the turkey filling on one of the corners of the wrapper as shown. Spread the filling to make it easier to roll them.

Start to roll, tucking the sides inward as you go.

Put a little water to seal the edges securely.





You may cook this right away or leave in the fridge and cook it the next day. You can even freeze these.

Now, you can either deep-fry it (recommended) but if you’re health conscious you may  bake it, too (which I tried to know if it would work). I must admit, the deep-fried ones taste better though baking is a good alternative.

Deep-fry in hot oil (about 350 F) until golden brown. Oil should just about cover the rolls. If the oil is hot enough it should not take long. Cook the lumpia in batches. Allow enough room for each to roll in the oil for an even browning.

Use tongs to lift the cooked lumpia and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the extra oil or place them in a sieve or strainer lined with paper towels too.     I normally line the rolls straight (vertically) on the strainer to allow the oil to drain better.  Below are the rolls after they've been cooked and drained. Don't they look gorgeously golden?

Alternatively, you can bake it in a 375F degree oven and bake until golden brown. Remember, it's already cooked, you just need to brown the skin or wrapper.  Don't forget to brush a little oil on the spring rolls before you bake them.

Of course, it’s not complete without the sauce or dip – choose either the sweet chili sauce or do your own Filipino sauce by combining vinegar, crushed garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Dip the rolls in the sauce! Yum!

Wonderful as appetizer or even as a main dish eaten with hot rice!

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Pork or Beef Menudo

I bought a big family pack of boneless pork ribs this week so I had been cooking Filipino food like crazy! Adobo, menudo, Asian Bar-B-Q ribs are just some of the recipes on my menu list.

This particular menudo recipe is one which my mom cooks for us especially when I am at home on vacation. She told me that to give the meat a really good flavor you need to cook it with fresh tomatoes and not just dump it with the tomato sauce. Also, she does not use tomato sauce (though that's fine if you prefer to use this instead) but ketchup 'cause it's a little sweeter than tomato sauce (at least the Filipino ketchup!) and enhances the flavor of the whole stew. Another technique that she told me is to make sure that you only put the ketchup towards the end of cooking so it does not overpower the whole dish but "enhance" it. So, my only contribution here really is adding a little lemon juice to perk up the dish - I think that and fish sauce really make this a yummy dish.

Think of this recipe as a basic guide and tweak the seasoning to your liking. This dish is so good that you won't even miss the liver pate that is added in traditional menudo. My hubby doesn't like  liver so am glad that I can make a delicious menudo without it! Thanks, Mom!


Ingredients

2.2 lbs/1 kilo pork (Pork belly, shoulder or boneless ribs), chopped into cubes (1 to 11/2 inch)
2 Onions, chopped
1 head Garlic (or 6-8 cloves), peeled
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 large Plum Tomatoes, chopped
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce*
2 dried or fresh Bay (Laurel) leaves
1/2 cup Water
2 medium to large Potatoes, cubed
2 medium Carrots, cubed
1/4-1/3 cup Ketchup (pref. the Del Monte Tomato Ketchup brand)*
1 Red Bell pepper, chopped (roughly the size of the carrots and potatoes)
1/2 cup raisins (I end up using more 'cause I love raisins on anything!)
Brown sugar, to taste

*If you're not a fan of fish sauce you can replace it with Soy sauce (start with 1-2 Tablespoons) and a little lemon juice (2 teaspoons). You can adjust the taste to your liking. Fish sauce is great though. :-)

*You can also use tomato sauce.

Procedure

Place the pork cubes in a large pan or Dutch oven and let it cook in medium heat until it changes its color. No need for any oil as the meat will release some of its fat in the process. Add the garlic and onions and sauté. Season with a little salt. Continue to cook until the pork has browned (but not fried all the way) and the onions have softened.

Add the tomatoes and fish sauce and continue to sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the bay leaves. Cover and simmer on low until the pork is tender.

When the pork is already tender, add the water, potatoes and  carrots. Cook covered until the vegetables are tender. Add the sweet peppers, raisins and the ketchup (or tomato sauce). Cook for another 5 minutes or just until the raisins are re-hydrated and the sauce is fully heated through.

Adjust the seasoning to your taste. If it's a little tart, sprinkle some brown sugar to balance the taste. Don't make it too sweet as you have raisins to balance the sour and savory flavor of the other ingredients. It should just be a perfect balance of sweet, tart and salty! Have it with rice, of course!

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Ultimate Pork Adobo (Chinese Style)

If there is a dish that defines what Filipino cuisine is all about - it's adobo, the unofficial, national dish of the Philippine islands. There are as many versions of adobo as there are many islands in the Philippines. Perhaps not as many as 7,107 islands (the whole Philippine archipelago) but ask each Filipino family and each will tell you their own adobo recipe handed down from one generation to another differentiated not so much by the kind of ingredients they use but more on the style or technique in cooking the dish.

Adobo always has meat - that's the star of the dish. It can either be chicken or pork or a combination of both. While the name is of Spanish origin and is similar in some ways to the Latin/Hispanic "adobo" in the sense that meat is steeped in or immersed in a sauce and cooked in it, adobo in the Philippines refers mainly to the dish (as in Pork adobo) rather than a cooking technique. Typically, adobo is cooked in a soy and vinegar sauce with bay leaves, lots of garlic, black peppercorns (whole or crushed), and may be sweetened with a little sugar or even pineapple juice or syrup. Because of the long and slow cooking, the meat absorbs the delicious flavor of the sauce and is so good paired with rice. Normally, we cook a lot of adobo so we have left-overs which can be re-heated day after day. The longer the adobo stands (in the fridge of course, though in the olden times it's the vinegar that served as its preservative) the better the taste. When you have some left-overs (if you ever have some 'cause you may want to eat it all in one sitting - so more-ish!) serve it with fried rice and some fried eggs and you have a classic Pinoy breakfast - AD-SI-LOG - short name for Adobo (this dish) - Sinangag (Fried Rice) - and Itlog (Fried Eggs). Yummm!

For this particular version, I depart from the usual adobo (though I will be posting a recipe for the classic adobo in a future post). Here I am making an adobo without using vinegar - Chinese style. For this I am deeply indebted to my friend Rebecca who graciously shared with me the ingredients she used and the way to make it. After I tasted the adobo she brought in one of our Filipino parties, I just had to get her recipe. It's so good you won't even miss the vinegar! I have never made pork adobo any other way! For me this is the ultimate pork adobo. Even my husband (not really a big pork fan) loves this and never says no when this is on the table.

What I particularly love about this adobo is the addition of mushrooms. I have seen adobo with pineapple rings but never one with mushrooms and this gives the adobo even more depth in flavor and adds a lot in texture. I have tried many kinds of mushrooms -both dried and fresh shiitake, enoki, mini-portobellos and the common white button mushrooms. Any of them are great for this dish but the best for me are the fresh shiitake 'cause they are so meaty and fully absorb the flavor. If using dried shitake, don't forget to rehydrate them first before using and keep the liquid used in rehydrating them 'cause you can add that into the sauce for an even better flavor (if that is even possible with this already yummy sauce!).

So here goes the yummiest and easiest Adobo ever!

Ingredients

1 kilo / 2.2 lbs pork (get the part with some fat on it like pork shoulder, boneless country style ribs or pork belly)
Oyster sauce – 1 1/2 Tbsp
Brown sugar – 2 Tbsp (adjust to taste)
Soy sauce – 1/4 cup (I use Kikkoman)
Garlic – 6-8 cloves, minced or crushed or chopped (a small head of garlic may be used)
2 Bay leaves
Freshly ground pepper (or whole black peppercorns), to taste
8 oz fresh mini-bella/portobello mushrooms, or 2 - 4 oz shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dry)
A few drops of sesame oil (Very essential!)

Procedure

Clean the pork. Cut up the pork adobo style - about 1 1/2 - 2 inch cubes or chunks. They will shrink as they cook so I make it a little bigger. 

In a deep pan or a Dutch oven, mix the soy and oyster sauces, sugar, garlic and ground or whole peppercorns. Coat the pork with the sauce. Insert the bay leaves.

Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low until pork is tender between 1 1/2 - 2 hours. 

When the pork is already tender, add in the mushrooms. Continue to simmer until the mushrooms are cooked and tender about 5-10 minutes.

Add a few drops of sesame oil. Serve hot with rice.

Cook's Notes:

If using fresh Shiitake (4oz) - clean them quickly under running water or wipe the tops clean. Cut of the stem (can't eat them too chewy!) and then chop.

If using dry Shiitake (2 oz) - reconstitute/rehydrate the mushrooms in warm water for about 20 mins or until tender. Reserve the water. You may need to strain it first to remove any impurities and add it as needed if the adobo sauce dries up. This liquid is so full of flavor so don't throw it away especially if you like a more liquidy adobo.

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Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
(Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV)