Adobo - Thai-style
Oh my gawd: is this really Post # 50 for Sybaritic Diversions? Whoa…!
One of my favorite food blogs is Cheat Eat run by ST of Singapore. (She writes magnificently, her food shots always look fabulous, and her Japanese Spitz LL is the most adorable doggie I’ve seen in ages - and I’m not even a dog person!) It’s a fun read and offers an amazing variety of recipes, particularly for Southeast Asian cuisine.
One particular treat that caught my eye was ST’s recipe for Thai-style Braised Pork Belly. If you go look at her post on the subject, the first thing that will grab you is the scrumptious looking snapshot she took of the finished dish: chunks of nicely-cooked pork gilded, absolutely dripping with golden-brown sauce. Very mouthwatering, indeed.
The first time I tried her recipe, I forgot to tell my mother to turn off the stove and went off to Mass, completely oblivious to the fact that I left the pot simmering on full throttle. When I got home about an hour later, the dish ended up caramelized as all the sauce had dried up. Nevertheless, it tasted magnificent. I do not, however, recommend it for people who are trying to limit their carb intake as it’s a dish that demands to be eaten with rice! (You don’t want any? Good: more for us, then!)
The second time I tried the dish, I tweaked it a bit. (Well, personalized it, I think, is the operative word here. I hope and pray that ST doesn’t mind…) My mother can’t stand cilantro be it leaf or root and my dad wanted a bit of sauce to dribble over his rice. I also substituted spare ribs for the pork belly - not as fatty, but every bit as delicious - and half a tablespoon of black peppercorns as opposed to the tablespoon of white peppercorns in the original recipe. Plus, I was a bit more vigilant over the pot this time. ^_^
What I ended up with was a dish that was a sweet-and-savory hybrid between classic Filipino adobo and the sweetish humba which is usually made with pork knuckles. My brother said it was a tad strong, but everyone else couldn’t get enough of it. True enough, when I checked the fridge for leftovers the next morning, there wasn’t a bite left.
Thai-style Pork Rib Adobo
- 1/2 kilo pork spare ribs, chopped into large chunks
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup patis (fish sauce)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 cups water
Grind the peppercorns and garlic into a paste in a mortar; set aside. Heat oil in a heavy pan and brown the meat; remove from pan and set aside. Stir-fry the garlic-pepper paste until fragrant. Add patis, soy sauce, sugar, and 1/4 cup of the water. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Add the pork, stirring to coat the chunks. Add the remaining 2-3/4 cups water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and partially cover the pan. Simmer for 1-1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.
