FILIPINO ADOBO PORK WITH PINEAPPLE: lower-fat, wallet-friendly, make-ahead; fresh fruit, some prep-ahead, slow cooker

Impressive South East Asian flavours score highly on western taste-o-meters...

5-star Pork & Pineapple in Filipino Adobo Sauce 

If you've grown up on Chinese food, you're not likely to be fazed by unfamiliar Oriental ingredients.  But 67 has to admit some hesitation when it came to the Phillipino dish - adobo.  

Adobo is considered the Philippines' unofficial national dish.  It's indigenous to the Philippines, developing earlier than the spicier Spanish/Latin American adobo.  Philippine adobo tends to be tangy, with sweet overtones.  

The main component of adobo is vinegar, used to preserve meat in the hot climate.  Gradually, garlic, soy sauce, peppercorns and bay leaves were added for flavour and transformed into a braising liquid/sauce for meat, fish or vegetables.  Unlike Spanish adobe, it does not contain tomatoes or paprika.

It was the amount of vinegar in the recipe* that made 67 hang back.  But a Filipino colleague who spoke often and longingly of his mother's Adobe stews encouraged 67 onward.  Plus the recipe being considered*    included one of 67's favourite fruits - pineapple. 

Reader,  the stew was astonishingly delicious - not too acidic, not too salty, with a gentle undertone of sweetness.  It was a  glorious amalgam of subtly unfamiliar flavours.  So different from western and Chinese cuisines to reward oneself for being a little with adventurous.  In a good - and very satisfactory - way.

67 chose pork as the main ingredient to help bump up deficient Vitamin D levels and improve immunity.   

Pork is also quite wallet-friendly.  A kilo of casserole pork or pork shoulder costs about £5 in Morrisons and even less at Sainsbury's.  Casserole Pork and pork shoulder are higher in fat than leaner cuts like tenderloin or chops but the cooking method means any fat is easily removed.  

Chicken will work just as well and will only need 45-50 mins of cooking on top of the stove. (see tips below) 

As for fresh pineapple, many supermarkets have plentiful supplies at a just s£1 each; fresh produces best results.  But if you really really must, tinned pineapple in juice - not syrup - will do. 

67 recommends this recipe though maybe not so much for small children.  Golden oldies, however, can enjoy its savouriness knowing they are not overdoing salt.   

Start cooking the day before needed.

Cost: min £6

Serves: 6

Ingreds:

One large ripe pineapple

2 tbsp +2 teaspoons veg oil

1 kg boneless pork shoulder (fat removed) or casserole pork in 1.5 inch cubes

One half white onion, thinly sliced

Six garlic clothes thinly sliced 

2/3 cup vinegar (plain, white wine or cider)

1/3 cup reduced-salt soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon peppercorns +

Five bay leaves (tied in a muslim bag or clean j cloth)

          Salt and pepper 

steamed white rice

Garnish: chopped spring onions

Method: