Pork belly adobo recipe

During Rick Stein’s Food Stories, Rick discovered authentic Filipino food in the heart of Belfast at Trademarket’s KUBO. Recreate their pork belly adobo recipe which is traditionally served with jasmine rice and a pickled mango dish called atchara.

Ingredients for KUBO’s pork belly adobo recipe

SERVES 4

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 900g pork belly, cubed
• 9 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 125ml dark soy sauce
• 250ml sugar cane vinegar
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 4 dried bay leaves
• 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
• ½ tsp salt (add at end after tasting if required)

For Kubo’s mango atchara

• 2 unripe mangoes (green mangoes)
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 250ml sugar cane vinegar or pinakurat vinegar (fermented coconut vinegar)
• 45g caster sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 whole garlic cloves, crushed/grated
• 3 or 4 peppercorns, whole and crushed
• ½ tsp salt

For the KUBO’s aromatic jasmine rice

• 600g jasmine rice
• 1 litre water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 1 pandan leaf, fresh or frozen
• 3 tbsp finely chopped garlic, cooked and browned in a pan or roasted in the oven.

How to make KUBO’s pork belly adobo recipe

1. Heat the oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and add pork belly. Fry and allow to brown on all sides for 5 minutes.
2. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper and fry until onions are translucent. Add cane vinegar, dark soy sauce, fish sauce and brown sugar and stir to combine.
3. Simmer on medium low heat without a lid until the pork belly is tender for about 30 minutes until the liquid has reduced below the pork’s level. Bring down to low and continue to stir pork to prevent sticking to the pan
4. Once liquid has reduced to a thick consistency that coats the pieces of pork, taste and season with salt if required and adobo is ready to serve over garlic rice.

1. For KUBO’s mango atchara – Slice mangoes into 1-2cm thick sticks. Add the mangoes into jar along with raisins
2. In an pan add vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, cloves, garlic and peppercorns and salt and then stir to combine. Over a medium heat stir the pickle solution until sugar is fully dissolved. Allow to cool until it’s warm to the touch of your hand but not fully cooled.
3. Pour over mangoes in the jar and cover with the lid. This can be made the night before if required – you can’t make it too far ahead as the vinegar breaks down the mango flesh rendering it soggy.

1. For KUBO’s aromatic jasmine rice – Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water at least 3 times until water runs clear.
2. Add rice to pot and cover with water. Add bay leaves, black pepper, pandan leaf and the browned garlic. Then with your hands, stir the rice incorporating the aromatics and to level off the rice in the water.
3. Place over medium high heat, uncovered until it goes into a rolling boil. Once in a rolling boil, remove off heat, cover and allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes. After 20 or 30 minutes, remove lid and rice should be cooked. Fluff rice with a fork and it’s ready to be served.

Happy cooking