There are probably 500 ways to cook adobo but the one that is most familiar to the children is the adobo with vinegar and soy sauce. I call it my classic adobo recipe because I also cook white adobo.

Here is my usual adobo recipe.

Ingredients

1 kilo pork shoulder or loin cut in 1/2 inch cubes (variation: use half chicken and half pork)
1/3 cup vinegar
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 small bay leaf
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoon cooking oil

direction

1. Combine all ingredients except cooking oil and let stand for at least 30 minutes. The longer the marination, the more flavorful.

2. Simmer covered for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Stir occasionally and make sure meat does stick to the pan. Liquid will reduce and thicken. Drain and keep sauce to the side.

3. Heat cooking oil in a pot. Brown the meat on all sides. Transfer to a serving dish.

4. Pour off the remaining oil from the the pot. Add the sauce in number 2 and cook for two more minutes while scraping off some of the meat that adhered to the pot.

5. Pour sauce over meat. Serve hot.

Taste Variation

1. Use all the ingredients except the Soy sauce.

2. Add more garlic, salt and vinegar instead. This is what we call the white adobo.

3. Add 1 more tablespoon of sugar if you desire a sweeter taste.

4. Add more vinegar if you want your adobo to keep longer.

5. Adobo tastes better a day after it is cooked because all the ingredients and flavorings have seeped in.

You might also want to check my other recipe, Adobong Puti

Next entry, I will feature techniques and tips on how to cook adobo.