Some of our earliest memories centre on our mum’s food – in particular, her adobo. It’s been a constant throughout our lives, and was one of the first dishes we were both taught how to cook. Over the years, we have both adapted and experimented with her recipe, creating our own distinct versions.

Being The Adobros, adobo is naturally one of our classic dishes for our supper club, and it’s a big hit with our guests. This recipe is Mark’s version; in keeping with the way our mum taught us, the recipe is based primarily on taste and so can be adjusted accordingly. Follow these easy steps, and soon you’ll be making your guests come back for more!

The Adobros' Pork Belly Adobo (Photo courtesy of the Adobros)

Ingredients

• Slab of pork belly, with ribs still attached
• Soy sauce (any can do; we use Datu Puti)
• Cane vinegar (any can do; we use Datu Puti)
• Whole head of garlic
• Ground black pepper
• Cornstarch

Method

Take the skin off the pork belly (you can use this to make chicharron) and cut the ribs off

Cut the pork belly to the desired size – cubes of about 4cm in width

Peel and mince the garlic

Put the cut pork belly and the ribs into a large pot, along with the minced garlic

Add soy sauce and vinegar in roughly equal quantities until all of the meat is submerged

Add ground black pepper

Taste the adobo sauce, and adjust according to taste, adding more pepper, soy sauce or vinegar as desired

Heat the adobo. Once at a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 2 hours

Once you have finished cooking, remove the meat from the pot. Reserve the ribs for snacking or other meals

Arrange the pork belly cubes in an oven tray, taking care to ensure that the fatty side is facing upwards. Add some of the adobo sauce, enough to cover halfway up the pork belly cubes

Put the oven tray in the grill at a high setting, and grill until the fatty tops of the pork belly start to crisp and caramelise

Whilst the pork is grilling, take about half of the adobo sauce and run through a fine sieve into another pot. Reserve the remaining sauce as a stock or for any other cooking purpose

Heat over a low heat, and thicken with 4 tablespoons of cornstarch. Remember to dissolve the cornstarch in cold water before adding to the sauce and stir constantly. This will produce a smooth gravy-like consistency

Serve your grilled pork belly adobo cubes with rice, vegetables and many spoonfuls of the gravy. Enjoy!