Mention Filipino cooking and adobo comes to mind. For some reason, the dish itself is an unequivocal declaration of being Pinoy. I like the way The Wily Filipino puts it: “It’s an unambiguous declaration of ethnic presence, an olfactory attack on the mainstream: We’re here and you can smell it… adobo is uncomplicated, a symbol that at once signifies everything (identity, colonialism, ethnic pride) and nothing, or rather, nothing but itself.”
It isn’t the national food — lechon is. But while lechon conjures images of fiestas and large gatherings, adobo evokes feelings of casual meals with the family peppered with laughter and joyful conversations.
Adobo evokes memories of one’s mother lovingly preparing a meal in the warm kitchen. It evokes feelings of comfort and family. My mother cannot cook if her life depended on it but I associate adobo with happy family memories just the same — my kids’ and husband’s gusto and contented faces whenever we sit down to an adobo meal. That’s why I think I can cook adobo in a hundred different ways and not tire of experimenting.
There’s nothing extraordinary about this adobo recipe. It is the basic adobo recipe except for the addition of fresh button mushrooms. A combination, really. There’s pork adobo and mushrooms adobo; why not pork and mushrooms adobo?
Ingredients :
1 kilo of pork liempo (belly), skin on
1 whole head of garlic, segmented and crushed
1/2 to 3/4 c. of vinegar (depends on how sour you want your adobo)
3/4 c. of dark soy sauce
a teaspoonful of peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1/2 kilo of fresh button mushrooms
2 tbsps. of finely sliced onion leaves for garnish
Cooking procedure :
Cut the pork belly into into 2-inch cubes. Place in a shallow cooking pan (a wok is best) and pour in the vinegar. Add the crushed garlic, peppercorns and bay leaf. Bring to a boil without stirring. Let boil for a few minutes and stir. Continue boiling until quite dry and the pork starts to render fat. Cook the pork in its own fat for a few minutes or until the edges are nicely browned.
Pour in the soy sauce and a cup of water. Simmer for an hour or until the pork is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the mushrooms and stir a few times. Cover and simmer for five minutes.
Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with the onion leaves and serve hot with rice.
Another way to cook the adobo — the lazy way — is to partially cook a whole slab of pork belly before cutting it into pieces. This was how I did it when I cooked the pork and mushrooms adobo in the photo. The pork belly was still frozen and there wasn’t time to let it thaw. Since there was no way I could cut it while frozen, I placed it in the wok, skin side down, added the vinegar, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaf. I let it boil in the vinegar then lowered the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes. I didn’t need to add water because the frozen pork expelled enough water to make sure there would be enough liquid.
I turned off the heat after 30 minutes and let the pork sit in the remaining liquid for 15 minutes. Then, I lifted the pork belly out and cut it into 2-inch cubes. I returned the cut pork into the wok, turned on the heat and waited for the pork to render more fat. I cooked the pork in its fat, stirring until the edges started to brown. I poured in the soy sauce and water, and let everything boil. Then I covered the wok, turned down the heat and simmered the adobo for another 30 minutes. Then I added the mushrooms, stirred and simmered the adobo for another five minutes.
My mother can’t cook either! Actually I’ve noticed that in my family and all my Filipino friends’ families it’s the dads that cook. I love adobo and as my dad says “Adobo just gets better day after day; all the meats start soaking up the sauce and it gets tastier and tastier”.
wow! i have tukayo with the same kind of family and gusto! sadly though my father is not living anymore.. so its my dear brother who keeps the tradition alive. long live the guys who cook the best adobos in the world! (no offense meant, Connie. i salute you for your ingenuity and cooking.. will always. hehehe!)
sarap naman nyan connie!!!
kaya lang we dont have pork here in Riyadh… lalo ko tuloy gusto umuwi agad!… can i substitute chicken breast sa pork connie? sana oo para naman kahit papano i can cook this for my hubby…
please connie share some moe chicken or beef recipe for us who cannot even smell pork. hehehe!
thanks for this new way of cooking adobo. my family also loves adobo. where can i buy fresh button mushrooms? God bless and more power to your food blog.
Joy, that’s true, adobo is much better after reheating. Problem is… we rarely have anything to reheat when we’re having adobo.
ann, chicken thighs, skin on, are better. Adobo doesn’t taste the same if fatless meat is used. Don’t worry, there’s just meat in the freezer right now. hehehe
Betchay, most supermarkets sell fresh mushrooms although seasonal. In wet market, you will find them in vegetable stalls.
This looks interesting. And the picture looks so yummy. I love pork adobo and I also love mushrooms. Can’t wait to try this. However, I rarely buy fresh button mushrooms coz, per my experience, they don’t keep long in the ref. Would it make much difference if I use the canned ones?
Try ko nga. I have mushrooms that’s been in the fridge for a week now (sana its still good). Just have to buy the meat. Kasi I dont usually buy pork with fat.
Looks delish.
Anna, I really don’t know. The nice thing about fresh mushrooms is that as they expel water, the flavor goes into the sauce. I don’t think canned mushrooms can do that.
Leah, if you want to use fatless pork, you can just add heart-friendly oil so that the adobo isn’t so dry. Virgin coconut oil does wonders with adobo. Ah… but that’s a future entry. LOL
i’ve been cooking adobo with mushrooms since i learned how to cook adobo, although i haven’t tried the buttom mushrooms with it..i normally use shiitake mushrooms (dried or fresh) and wood ear mushrooms…then i add a little wine vinegar in addition to the usual ingredients…it’s my family’s fave dish now =)
OMGosh. I can never get tired of adobo. It’s just soooo good.
connie, i noticed that you boil the meat first in vinegar and spices without stirring. is that better than boiling everything together until the meat is tender? i mentioned your technique to my aunt whom i admire as a cook and said she would rather boil them all together. what’s up with the no stirring part? a friend mentioned that stirring will make the meat very sour.
for fatless pork, just add a bit of olive oil para di tuyo. it adds extra flavor as well.
re button mushrooms, it can still work for canned ones but of course, its always better if we use fresh mushrooms.
mahilig ako sa adobo, i always have mushroom included. pero its a combination of pork and chicken most of the time.
madalas may spicy bagoong na pangsawsaw.
ay ginugutom ako tuloy.
cameron, the practical result of the no-stirring part is that as soon as the vinegar has been absorbed, the sides of the pork that touches the cooking pan starts to brown at one. For some reason, constant stirring at this stage of cooking results in a longer time before the mixture dries up.
and it is for the same reason that I don’t boil them all together. To acquire a good texture, the frying in it’s own fat part if indispensable. Otherwise, adobo just becomes something like boiled flavored meat. it may be tender but without that chewy texture.
Tita Con, your pork & mushroom adobo looks great! Adobo has got to be the ultimate in all childhood comfort food memories. I usually use chicken thighs when I make adobo here @ home. It also happens to be one my hubs Top 5 favorite meals to have! lol My cousin taught me another very tasty version to make adobo. His magic ingredient being ginger! I tell you, @ first I was rather hesitant in adding ginger, but finally decided to give it a try. It was so good and my family and friends who came over raved about it.
Aloha, the ginger sounds great. Actually, I have tweaked adobo a few times by adding salabat powder. Ang sarap! So, I’m thinking… ginger slices + a teaspoonful of honey…??
hi con,
i love to experiment in the kitchen.btw,im a filipina newly married to an american. do you have a book or a compilation of your recipes that i can buy online or at any bookstore? this is a must have for me,and i love to try this recipes seems they look simple to me and all the ingredients i can buy from costco except yong taba ng pork? wala yata. im waiting for ur response. thanks much.
I just would like to thank you for this wonderful recipe. As I said before, I couldn’t wait to try this. So I did, even with no fresh mushrooms available in my fridge. I went ahead and used a can of button mushrooms using the broth in place of the water in the recipe. It turned out really well. And, most importantly, my daughters, who didn’t care much for pork adobo (they prefer chicken), loved it and and even requested that I cook this again for their baon. Thanks again.
riza, i have the draft of the book but i’m still looking for a good publishing deal.
Anna, don’t you just feel great when your kids really appreciate something you cooked? I love it when my kids say, “Don’t disturb me; I’m eating.”
Adobo is a favorite of my too. I’m the cook at home and my mom rarely cooks. But on my 4th year high school, each Saturday I have to wake up really early for CAT classes. I always wake to the smell of adobo simmering cooked by my mom. Then she mixes some pork slices to the garlic sinangag! That’s my favorite adobo memory.
Hello Connie!
We always add mushroom (canned or fresh) in our adobo after trying it out in one restaurant here in San Diego. Its pretty good and my son loves it! I dont have to force him to eat mushroom now!
Hi Janet. Mushrooms do give adobo a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?
mmmmm…. yummy!
Button mushrooms in my adobo next time, plus honey and salabat powder or a few slices of ginger. These added ingredients will surely give the adobo a new twist. Thanks, Connie. Thanks, Aloha.
Hi Connie! This adobo is super yummy…I cooked this na siguro 5 times na…Ako ang may gusto talga but of couse my family loved it too…..
Hi Ms. Connie!
I just finished cooking this recipe and I will be serving it later at dinner. Im sure there will be no leftovers!
Luckily I was able to find fresh button mushrooms at Farmer’s Market. It looked very much different from the canned ones, it was white, as opposed to the golden color of canned mushrooms, and the texture was also different. And it did expel a lot of water, I guess I overcooked it a little but it is really good, much more flavorful than the regular adobo.
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!
I love adobo and I wouldn’t cook it unless i use pork belly =) adobo wouldn’t be the same without the fat…hehe…
Im good in cooking adobo!!! i like the dried one
Hi Ms. connie i am an avid reader of ur blog and it has taught me alot of things ever since i came by it.i havent cooked at all in my life except for the usual frying, which doesnt even count by the way, but i have since found inspiration in your recipes and esp the photos.it inspired me a lot to even buy my own SLR to take pictures of food and just about everything under the sun.only thing missing is my own blog but i wouldn’t know how to start on that one.anyway,i cooked this adobo your way and added the mushroom and i was surprised of the difference the mushrooms make.my husband is always at awe by my cooking and frequently asks where i get the recipe.sabi ko secret but then he uses the pc and it opens up to ur page.buking hehe i would just like to suggest something and maybe u have even heard about this one.adobo flakes?my family goes crazy over this one.use up ur tirang adobo and flake it with a fork and then fry it until it becomes dark brown in color and crispy.serve it with sinangag and eggs hmm yum-o!
There’s a resto in Eastwood that serves adobo flakes on top of rice and it’s really good. I’m going to try it one of these days.
Hi Connie, I bump in you site accidentally, I really don’t know how, but i would say I love it. I tried some of chicken and meat recipe they are just so delicious. Speaking of Adobo, I was a married to a US Guy, the first time he went in our country, the first dish he requested for me to cook is the dish that start in “A”. Luckly, I’d been reading in the past and know that even foreign love our Adobo, he loves it and when i came here in US, I cooked the same dish to his family, they just love it, even his father who does not like garlic on his food, cannot resist Adobo. You’re right Adobo is not the same without the natural fat from the meat, that is the main problem I encountered when i arrived here in US because most of the meat can buy in supermarket don’t have fat on it. So every time i cooked I put oil in it. I never tried putting mushroom in Adobo, I did potato and carrots. One of this day i will try this dish…today, I will try the Pork and beans recipe. Thank you
i’m an “experimenting” cook myself. can’t say i’m good, but i do love the kitchen. i’ve been following your posts in facebook and i must say, you really do rock! thanks for these recipes… my chicken thigh adobo just made a bow here in Copenhagen. i think i will try this mushroom-pork adobo of yours this time…
good luck to you. and keep posting! :-*
Miss. Connie,
Help! I wanna cook this one but all we have here in Canada is a salted pork belly…there’s no fresh one..how can i get rid of the saltines of the pork…please help me! thanks!
Have you tried going to the butcher directly instead of the supermarket?
Miss. Connie,
Nope..i never tried that but most supermarket here has no butcher..not like in the Philippines…but my hubby and i will go to the city next weekend where big meat shops are available….thank again