HAVE YOU EATEN? | RECIPE CURATED BY FRANCESCA DAWIS

PORK ADOBO

I’m excited to share my family’s Pork Adobo recipe with you! It’s the first Filipino dish I remember eating as a child. Every Filipino family has their own sacred adobo recipe—you know you’ve made a Filipino friend when they share it with you :) Feel free to alter the recipe to your own taste—add more soy sauce, vinegar, or sugar as you like. This sweet and savory dish is great paired with rice and other Filipino side dishes like pinakbet (vegetable stir fry with shrimp paste) and lumpia (egg rolls). My family likes to eat it with baked beans and corn. YUM! I hope this gives you the foundation to build your own beloved adobo recipe!

You can get these ingredients at any grocery store, but United Noodles is my recommended Asian grocery store for those of you in the Twin Cities.

— Francesca Dawis

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. pork butt or shoulder, cut into 1-2 in. cubes

10 cloves of garlic, minced

4 bay leaves

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. brown sugar (or white sugar / sweetener of your choice)

1/2 cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium Kikkoman)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup white vinegar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water (Note: This is optional, used to thicken the sauce at the end of cooking. If you do not have cornstarch, try rice flour, potato starch, or tapioca starch. All-purpose flour will not work as well.)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to Broil.

Heat up Instant Pot using the Sauté function. Wait until the Instant Pot says "HOT."

Add cubed pork to the pot and sauté until brown. (The pork does not need to be fully cooked.) Remove pork and set aside.

Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, and vinegars in a separate bowl. Add garlic, bay leaves, and pepper to the Instant Pot. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture and stir vigorously to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot.

Add pork back into the pot. Shut the lid and pressure cook on High for 13 minutes. Make sure the Venting Knob is set to Sealing position.

Quick release the pressure by turning the Venting Knob to the Venting position. Remove the pork and place onto a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Broil the meat for 4-5 minutes or until browned and slightly crispy.

Turn the Instant Pot back on to Sauté and add the cornstarch slurry. Stir vigorously and bring the sauce to a boil. Cook until the desired consistency is reached, about 3 minutes. (It’s all about personal preference here—I like my sauce to be slightly thick so that I can spoon it over rice, and it doesn’t run down the plate. But not as thick as gravy!) Turn Instant Pot off.

Place pork into a serving bowl and add sauce. Serve and enjoy!

IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN INSTANT POT

Combine all ingredients except for cornstarch slurry in a large bowl and marinate the pork for 1 hour. Leaving the marinade behind, add the pork to a large pot. Sauté until brown. Add marinade, cover with lid, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove the pork and broil. Add cornstarch slurry to uncovered pot. Stir vigorously and bring the sauce to a boil. Cook until the desired consistency is reached. Serve and enjoy!