Add heat and subtle sweetness to the traditional salty-sour flavor of Filipino adobo. Crushed bird's eye chilies and coconut cream are all you need.
Cook’s notes
Why the addition of chili and coconut cream? For us, the addition means a heightened adobo experience. Heat and sweet creaminess transform a rather ubiquitous dish into one that even more mouth-watering. Trust me, cook your adobo this way and you’ll be clamoring for second and third helpings.
For those with lower tolerance for heat, the amount of chili is highly tweakable. Use just one bird’s eye chili for a not-so-intense kick; use more for a really numbing effect.
If you like the flavor of chili with reduced heat, slit them open and scrape off the seeds and membranes that you’ll find inside.
Pork adobo with chili and coconut cream
Ingredients
- 900 grams skin on pork belly or shoulder (about 1 pound) cubed
- 1 whole garlic crushed and peeled
- ½ teaspoon peppercorns crushed
- 1 to 2 bird’s eye chilies chopped (or ½ teaspoon chili flakes)
- 1 to 2 bay leaf
- 1 sprig oregano or one generous pinch dried oregano
- ¼ to ⅓ cup vinegar
- ¼ to ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup coconut cream
- 1 finger chili thinly sliced (to garnish)
Instructions
- Continue boiling, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the pork starts to render fat.
- Stir and cook until the edges of the pork start to brown.
- With the heat still on high, pour in the soy sauce and about a cup and a half of water.
- Bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer the adobo for an hour to an hour and a half or until the pork is very tender and the liquid considerably reduced.
- Pour in the coconut cream. Allow to simmer (there is no need to stir) for a minute or two.
- Transfer the chili pork adobo with coconut cream to a serving bowl. Sprinkle the sliced finger chili over the pork. Serve hot with rice.
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