Adobo is a traditional Filipino dish. I have tried making it with chicken and pork. My favorite is pork. It took me a handful of times making this (one time with Dad’s help and supervision lol) and several times after that to get close to perfecting it. I haven’t been able to make it quite as good as my Dad, but it is pretty close and still delicious. I mean, I don’t have issues eating it. 😆 This last batch, was my best one yet. It because I finally bought the perfect pan (from Marshal’s, because that place is the best). I will explain why later! so keep reading😂
This recipe is pretty simple and you don’t need much!
- Meat of choice, preferably boneless
- Salt
- Pepper
- Lots of garlic (6-8 cloves)
- vinegar
- water
- Soy sauce
- Bay Leaves
Like I said, our favorite adobo is pork. I typically will get boneless country ribs. Cut the meat into about 1 inch cubes. The key is to not cut them too small. I have made that mistake before and the meat just crumbles and becomes shredded adobe. LOL. After you cut the meat into cubes, then rinse the meat and place it in a pan.
This is where my new pan came in so handy! Before I was using a 6qt. stock pot. It worked but the meat usually fell apart too easily because the meat stacked on top of each other. My new wide pan allows all the meat to spread out evenly without being stacked. This also helped it to cook faster. I found that in the stock pot with the meat stacked, I stirred more often (another reason why the pieces fell apart) and it took longer to get all the pieces to cook. The wider pan also gives a more even cook!
Back to the recipe.😂 Once the meat is rinsed and placed in the pan, then salt and pepper your pieces. I used both white and black pepper. Chop all garlic and it to the pot.
You then add the remain ingredients in the pot. When my dad taught me how to make this he didn’t really measure. He just eye balled everything. I am not that good yet. So I recommend adding about equal parts vinegar and water. You want enough liquid that all the meat is covered. I do not add as much soy sauce, however. For instance, if I add about 2 cups vinegar and water, then I add about 1/2 cup of soy sauce. Lastly add the bay leaves. Depending on the size, I will add 2-3 . Give everything a stir until it is well combined and cover with a lid at medium-high heat. Let it come to a boil and let it do the magic! Check it occasionally and can it a stir. Turn down the heat if it boils so much that it overflows.
But here is also where my new pan came in handy because the lid had a hole! Seems simple, but my stock pot did not have a hole in the lid and I always made a mess because the liquid always boiled over.
Continue to boil until there is little to no liquid yet. Then you fry the meat for a nice crispy finish. Once the meat has fried to your liking, remove it and add white rice to the pan to fry! The excess juice, oils and flavors are perfect for fried rice. We eat the adobo, fried rice and fresh cut tomatoes for the perfect meal!
There are many different ways to make adobo. They even made it on Selena+Chef with Jordan Andino’s chicken adobo recipe. Since watching this episode, I have been wanting to try his recipe but haven’t had a chance to yet – but I am sure I will share with you all when I do! Have you had adobo before and do you have a preference of meat? I’d love to hear your experiences!
Live to Eat,
Tiv
Living Tivalicious 
It definitely was spot on. Maria shared some with her dad and me and it was delicious. Thank you
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