I do most of the cooking at home and my most requested dish for everyday cooking is chicken and pork adobo. Here is my recipe. Warning, it is probably more work than most people want to put in but I promise you, the end result is super delish!
I actually combined 3 or 4 adobo recipes I found in our cookbooks here to come up with this version.
Chicken and Pork Adobo
A simple traditional Filipino dish that can be cooked in hundreds of ways … each region (and possibly household) have their own way of making it.
- 1 kilo pork (cubed)
- 1 kilo chicken (cut up)
- coarse sea salt (we use salt from Alaminos, Pangasinan)
- water to cover
- 1 head garlic (cracked or split, not crushed, DO NOT PEEL)
- black pepper, coarsely ground
- bay leaves (laurel)
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 cup light soy sauce
- 4 cups water
Preparation
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Wash the pork and chicken separately, then place them in the pot. I recommend the pork below and the chicken on top.
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Take a small fistful of salt (around 2 tbps.) and sprinkle it on the meat then pour in enough water to cover.
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Boil for 20 to 30 minutes. Make sure your pot is deep enough that it won't overflow. This will accomplish two things: a) it will soften the meat and b) it will remove that funky smell meat sometimes gets
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Get a fat skimmer and skim off all the gunk (fat, etc.) that will float on the water. This usually looks like light brown bubbles or soap suds. DON'T MIX THE CONTENTS OF THE POT! That will just make the gunk mix back in and we are trying to remove it. Note: You don't have to wait until the 20 to 30 minutes are up to do this. I usually check every 5 minutes and remove what I can. This way, more gunk is removed.
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Turn off the stove.
Cooking Phase 1
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Take another pot put in the cracked garlic.
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Using tongs or a slotted spoon lift out all the pieces of meat and put them in the pot containing the garlic.
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Throw in the pepper and bay leaves.
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Pour in the white vinegar, rice wine vinegar, light soy sauce, and water. DO NOT MIX!
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Turn on the stove and boil the pot for 30 minutes or until your nose tells you that the dish is cooked. This usually means it does not smell so "vinegary". You can cover the pot but make sure not to close the lid completely or place a wooden spoon across so that it won't overflow. At this point you will also notice that there is less water.
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Taste and add salt or spices as you feel is needed.
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Turn off the stove and let the adobo "sit". I like to just keep it in the pot covered properly to keep the household pests from getting to it first. But if you prefer, you can put it in the ref once it is cool. For the flavor to really seep in it is best to let it sit for 24 hours.
Cooking Phase 2
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Take a large frying pan, preferably non-stick so you don't need oil. But if you have a regular one that is ok, too.
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If using a regular frying pan, heat the pan then add oil. Once the oil is hot add the meat pieces and brown the meat. If using a non-stick pan, put the meat pieces in even if the pan is not yet hot. Turn on the stove to brown the meat.
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Be careful when turning the meat to fry the other side. Since we pre-cooked the meat, it should be super soft and will likely shred … unless your objective is adobo flakes, in which case, have at it! 😀
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Once all the meat is browned pour what sauce you have remaining over the meat to heat up.
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Place in a bowl or serving platter and feed to your family.
I honestly do not know how many servings this recipe makes but it is a lot!
