The classic Filipino cuisine in my interpretation. This can be prepared well in advance, giving the pork plenty of time to marinate—the longer, the better. The marinade is known by the term adobo. Use all pork belly, a combination of it and other pork cuts like loin and shoulder, or a combination of both. Use of dark soy sauce (not light), sparkling lemonade, and apple (Pink Lady®, JazzTM, or Pacific RoseTM are good) are essential ingredients. Serve alongside rice.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 30 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- ½ pound pork belly, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- ½ pound pork loin, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons groundnut oil, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 red chile pepper, chopped, or more to taste
- 12 whole black peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 3 bay leaves, or more to taste
- 1 pinch cumin seeds, or to taste
- ½ apple, diced
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 medium red onion, roughly chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 (3.5 ounce) package shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 cup sparkling lemonade
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 cube chicken bouillon
Instructions
- Combine pork belly and pork loin in a large bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon groundnut oil to coat. Add garlic, ginger, red chile, peppercorns, brown sugar, bay leaves, and cumin. Mix in diced apple, cider vinegar, and soy sauce. Stir to coat the pork. Marinate in the fridge, stirring occasionally, for at least 1 hour.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the pan and sprinkle in salt and pepper. Add onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Fry until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the pork and marinade; cook until pork starts to brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in lemonade, cornstarch, and bouillon; sauce should cover the pork and vegetables.
- Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until liquid is reduced and pork is tender but still slightly pink in the center, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter 10 minutes before pork is finished cooking. Discard bay leaves before serving.
- Chicken can also be used instead of pork.
- When creating the marinade, you can add more oil, dark soy, or apple cider vinegar to get a nice balance. The pork wants to be very moist but not splashing.
- Adding vegetables is optional: onion, bell pepper, broccoli, and shiitake mushrooms work well.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 258 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 14 g |
| Cholesterol | 42 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 682 mg |
| Sugars | 8 g |
| Fat | 17 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Over-all I’d definitely make again! Spending time in the Philippines while in the US Navy, I had alot of opportunity to experience and enjoy authentic Filipino food!!! While making this recipe I adjusted ingredients as what seemed necessary to double the recipe however it wasn’t a simple x 2. The only pork belly available was uncured “sliced” bacon in 1 lb. packages; I used 1…next time ask the meat dept. manager to order some pork belly or use 2 pounds of bacon (if absolutely necessary…) it’s a pain to separate into the marinade. The ginger root was only a 2″ x 1″ piece because my wife doesn’t like the flavor of ginger…next time I’ll actually double the root bc the end result was “really” weak on ginger flavor. The cider vinegar and soy sauce (reduced sodium) were initially doubled for the marinade however increased to 1c. of each; next time 3/4c bc 1c makes the marinade “slooshy”. I learned groundnut oil is actually “peanut oil” which I actually had. After softening the veggies and browning the meats; everything went into a pre-heated crackpot for the finishing-touch. As with “anything” cooked in a crockpot; the condensation level will have to be monitored & removed. A note concerning the jasmine rice used; although old news for most probably; if the rice is covered in water, gently stirred, water carefully poured-off and repeated until the water is “clear” removing the outer layer of starch; the cooked rice will become “sticky rice” perfectly suitable for this recip