Filipino Pork Adobo

When I was drawing up the menus for The Gastronomer's 28th birthday meals back in February 2010, this recipe seemed like an ideal introduction to the "complete world of pork." It seemed straightforward and not too intimidating, and it was hard to imagine how it could fail to be delicious. Then last summer I was introduced to the wonderful pork adobo from Los Angeles's first Filipino food truck, The Manila Machine, and I became even more excited to try making Filipino-style adobo myself.

I managed to buy the Boston butt already chopped up as "stew meat", which made the prep a breeze. The adobo was a hit with the birthday girl, and I enjoyed feasting on it for lunch for the remainder of the week.

Recipe from Bruce Aidells's Complete Book of Pork.

• 2 lbs boneless Boston butt, cut into 3-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup rice or white vinegar, or more to taste
• 3/4 cup light soy sauce
• 1/4 Asian fish sauce (I used Squid brand, The Gastronomer's family's favorite)
  
• 2 cups homemade chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth or water
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar, or more to taste
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 4 bay leaves
• 5 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon Asian hot chili oil, or less/more to taste (I used Sriracha)

Put the pork and all of the remaining ingredients in a casserole or large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, uncovered, until the pork is tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Skim and discard the fat from the surface. Taste the broth and add more vinegar, sugar, or chili oil to balance the flavors to your liking. Serve the adobo over jasmine rice.

Yield: 4-6 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: Not given
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 1 hour 45 minutes (30 minutes of active time)