Adobong Baboy (Filipino Pork Adobo)

Driving around the Philippines is a carnival for the senses.

The intense humidity. The bright green landscape and blue skies. Colourful bunting spread out across the roads as scooters and jeepneys beep and zip by underneath. The smells, too. On the roads salty ocean air jostles with sweet sampaguita jasmine, diesel fumes, burning fires and barbecued pork.

It was 2015 and I was with two friends on scooters driving deep into Bohol, an island in the central Philippines about an hour and a half's flight from Manila. We were on our way to see the famous Chocolate Hills, thousands of high, perfectly conical hills which carpet the interior of the island and turn chocolatey brown during the dry season.

We paused for lunch by a small roadside eatery. Pork is big business in the Philippines and we were eager to try the local specialty: adobong baboy, or pork 'adobo'. A vestige of the Spanish, the word adobo comes from the verb 'adobar' meaning to marinate, and pork adobo is just that - a thick and delicious stew of pork marinated and braised in soy sauce, vinegar and simple aromatics.

Three filling bowls of pork adobo later and we were back on the road. It was late afternoon by the time we got to a high enough altitude to see the hills in all their glory: beautiful, awe-inducing green and brown cones rising high above the canopy floor and stretching out as far as the eye could see.

Ingredients (2 people)

500g pork shoulder or belly

100ml soy sauce

100ml coconut vinegar or white wine vinegar

200ml water

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 medium white onion (diced)

3 garlic cloves (minced)

2 bay leaves

1 tbs whole black peppercorns

1 tbs brown cane sugar

Salt

2 tbs coconut milk (optional)

Spring onion and/or fresh chilli for garnish

Preparation (2hrs)

1. Cut the pork into cubes and place in a bowl with the soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns and bay leaves. Leave to marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hour or ideally overnight.

2. Remove the pork from the bowl and pat each piece dry with a paper towel. Keep the marinade liquid for later.

3. In a large skillet or saucepan on high heat, add the vegetable oil and brown the meat on all sides (5min). This will seal the flavours in. Remove the meat and set aside.

4. In the same pan, sauté the onion and garlic with a small pinch of salt (5min). Add the meat back in along with the marinade liquid and water. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer covered for 30min. Add the brown sugar and let reduce uncovered for a further 15min or until it reaches a thick enough consistency. Optional: add some coconut milk at this stage for extra creaminess.

5. Garnish with some spring onion and chilli. Serve immediately.

TIP 1: The cut of pork should have a decent amount of fat and sinew which will add lots of flavour during the searing process. If you prefer less fat, simply remove it after Step 3.

TIP 2: For authentic adobong baboy in Brussels check out Bahay Kubo - a cheerful and friendly Filipino restaurant in La Chasse district!