Pork Adobo (Variation)

cowpants's Note:

Typical Filipino adobo has meat in a sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and peppercorns. This variation has coconut milk. Serve over rice. This keeps well and is even better the next day; chill, skim the fat from the top, and warm gently. (This recipe is modified from "Memories of Philippine Kitchens" by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan.)

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 ½ lbs pork , cubed
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups vinegar
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken stock
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 head garlic , peeled, smashed
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 thai bird chile

Directions:

1. NOTES. I use boneless country pork ribs, trim the fat, and cut into cubes about 2" square. Apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, or Filipino white vinegar are all fine to use. This can be a little salty; you may want to substitute low-sodium soy sauce. Yes, that's 1 whole head garlic, many cloves! Use more bay leaves if they're small. For the chile, you can leave it whole; I slice it down the middle and remove the seeds. You can add more if you like it hotter. This makes a lot of sauce, the better for ladling onto your rice!
2. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the oil until very hot but not smoking. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. Add meat to the pan (in batches if necessary) and brown well on all sides.
3. Transfer meat to the pan and pour off oil. Add the vinegar to the pan and scrape up any sticky bits. Return meat to pan.
4. Add soy sauce, chicken stock, coconut milk, garlic, bay leaves, and chile. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 1 hour until meat is tender.
5. Transfer ribs to a plate. Increase the heat and reduce the sauce by half. Discard the bay leaves and chile. Return meat to the pot, or arrange meat on a platter and pour the sauce on top.