Blonde Adobo

Karen must be rolling her eyes now and saying - 'Adobo na naman?!' (Adobo again?!) :LOL: I honestly don't know the official name for this adobo variation. I know the Ilocanos cook it this way but same with lots of Batanguenos. Hence, I'm not too sure of its origin as well. I took the liberty of naming it as 'blonde' since it's not as dark as the usual adobo - nothing western about it just something about the colour. When I read Reggie Aspiras' column in the Lifestyle section of the Philippine Inquirer way back in January this year, I was intrigued by her description and recipe of this soy sauce anaemic dish that I vowed that I will use my seldom-a-year quota for fatty pork on giving this a try. Normally, people just use salt though like Reggie I like patis with it. But go ahead if you want just salt to make it even 'blonder'. It's important by the way, to keep a close watch when browning the pork. Keep the heat on medium-low. You don't want the nice gravy-like sauce tasting burnt. Here is my adaptation of Reggie's recipe:


Blonde Adobo

1 kg  pork belly (or any fatty pork part) - cut into 1-inch cubes
1 head of garlic - minced (about 3 Tbsp)
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1-2 Tbsp water
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp patis (or another 1 tsp sea salt)
additional water

1. Heat a heavy saucepan or pot. Once it's hot, rinse the pork pieces in water and drop it straight into the hot saucepan. Add 2-3 Tbsp of water.
2. Simmer the meat. Soon the water would evaporate and the pork will render fat.
3. Cook pork in its own fat until golden brown. Keep the heat on medium-low to avoid burning the bottom.
4. [Optional] Remove excess oil leaving only about 1-1/2 Tbsp in the pot.
5. Stir in the garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Saute for about 30 seconds.
6. Add vinegar and scrape the bottom of the saucepan. You want the brown bits at the bottom for flavour that's why it's important not to burn it.
7. Add just enough water to cover the meat.
8. Bring to boil again then turn heat to low and simmer until pork is tender. If the sauce is drying up too much add hot water, again just enough to cover the meat.
9. Season with salt and/or patis (or if you prefer it really 'blonde' season just with salt). Taste and adjust seasoning according to taste.