Adobo 1.0

Time

2 hours - good for late diners or slow weekends

Ingredients

Meat

• 2kg of meat

Filipino's are raised on baboy (pork) however you can also sub it for manok (chicken). I prefer to use chicken thighs for flavour, they're also more forgiving with the high heat. For this recipe test we did a mix of pork loin, belly and rump. Quality of meat makes a big difference.

• Optional: 200g of pork liver

This comes from my lola's recipe to add more flavour.

Veg

• 1 onion
• 6 gloves of garlic, skin on
• 20 whole black peppercorns

And freshly ground pepper, for extra pepperiness

• 2 bay leaves
• Tomatoes

Served on the side to add freshness to the dish

• White jasmine rice

Cook as much as you need, 4 cups generously serves 6 people

Condiments

• 1 cup of toyo (soy sauce)
• 1/2 cup of suka (vinegar)
• Olive oil

For baboy

1. Chop the onion in half then into strips about 1/2 cm apart.
2. Cut your meat into even chunks, about 4cm lengths. If you're including liver, slice into 2cm wide pieces.
3. Give the meat a quick rinse under cold water

Hotly debated with dad. He's all for it.

4. Smash the garlic with the side of the knife.
5. Into a large pot, put all the meat, toyo, vinegar water, onion, garlic, peppercorns and freshly ground pepper. Rip the bay leave in half and add to the pot.
6. Cook under high heat, when it reaches a boil, continue to cook for another 20 mins. Give it a good mix every 5 mins to make sure all the meat has a chance to cook in the braise.
7. Turn down the heat to a medium simmer for at least an hour.

The braising liquid will reduce, turn into a darker brown and flavours will sharpen, taste it as you cook to see how the flavour develops over time.

8. Get your rice on, rice is a must with this dish.
9. When you can put a fork through the meat easily, pour the braising liquid into a separate container. If there's liver, add a few bits into the container and roughly mash.
10. Add a good layer of olive oil to the pot to pan fry the meat until all the pieces have developed a golden colour. Make a call whether you need to fry the meat in batches for a more even cook.

With most adobo recipes you brown the meat first before you add the liquid, here we're doing it after. I'd like to do a side-by-side test to find out if it actually makes a difference to the taste. I expect that more caramelisation happens after given the meaty braise.

10. Return the remaining braising liquid to the pot, bring it back to a boil.
11. At this point, kill the heat. It's ready to go.
12. Slice the tomatoes into wedges and add to your adobo and rice.

For manok

1. Get your rice on. There's a quicker cook on the chicken than pork.
2. Chop the onion in half then into strips about 1/2 cm apart.
3. Cut your meat into slices of about 2cm apart.
4. Smash the garlic with the side of the knife.
5. Into a large pot, put all the meat, toyo, vinegar water, onion, garlic, peppercorns and freshly ground pepper. Rip the bay leave in half and add to the pot.
6. Cook at high heat and bring it to a boil, to speed up the process you can put the lid on.
7. Once it reaches a boil, turn to medium heat and continue to braise until all the chicken is cooked. Give it a good mix every few minutes to make sure that it evenly cooks in the braising liquid.

The braising liquid will reduce, turn into a darker brown and flavours will sharpen, taste it as you cook to see how the flavour develops over time.

1. When you can easily put a fork through the meat, pour the braising liquid into a spearate container. There should be about half of liquid left.
2. Add a good layer of olive oil to the pot to pan fry the meat until all the pieces have developed a golden colour. Make a call whether you need to fry the meat in batches for a more even cook.
3. Return the remaining braising liquid to the pot, bring it back to a boil.
4. At this point, kill the heat. It's ready to go.
5. Slice the tomatoes into wedges and add to your adobo and rice.