An exciting twist to an old favorite. Add a new brand of acidity to Filipino pork adobo by cooking the meat with balsamic vinegar, and adding chunks of fresh pineapple for a bit of sweetness.
Cook’s notes
Some cooks add a teaspoon or two of sugar to their adobo to calm down the intense acidity of the vinegar. I don’t add sugar but if I’m in the mood for a milder adobo with a subtle sweetness, I simply swap balsamic vinegar for regular vinegar and add chunks of fresh pineapple during the last ten minutes or so of cooking.
It’s not new. My daughter, Alex, cooked pineapple adobo and balsamic pork adobo pre-pandemic, and I posted the recipes in the old blog. What’s new is combining those two recipes.
Balsamic pork and pineapple adobo
Ingredients
- 500 grams pork belly (1.1 pounds) cut into bite-sized pieces
- 6 to 8 cloves garlic smashed and peeled
- 3 to 4 pinches coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs oregano leaves only
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups meat broth optional
- 1 ½ cups fresh pineapple chunks
- 1 tablespoon rock salt or one teaspoon refined salt
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan.
- Spread the pork belly slices and add the garlic, pepper, bay leaves and oregano.
- Cook the pork and spices over high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and fat has been rendered.
- Pour in the balsamic vinegar and sprinkle in the salt. Boil uncovered until the mixture is almost dry.
- Pour in the meat broth, bring to the boil, cover the pan and simmer until the pork is tender and the liquid has reduced to a few tablespoons.
- Taste and add more balsamic vinegar or salt, or both, as needed.
- Stir in the pineapple chunks.
- Cover the pan and simmer for ten to twelve minutes longer.
- Taste one last time and adjust the seasonings, if needed.
- Enjoy your Balsamic pork and pineapple adobo with rice.
Hot spring egg (onsen tamago)