Pork Adobo in coconut milk

I have been living in the Philippines for over three years now. This is a beautiful paradise with picturesque beaches, clear blue waters and magazine perfect scenery. I love the Filipino cuisine, and today's recipe that I share with you - Adobo, is considered by many to be the national dish of this country. Pork and chicken are combined to make the adobo and it is a very common dish, however you can make them separately too. It is cooked differently across various regions, but the basic ingredients remain the same, i.e. soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, peppercorn and bay leaves. There are different versions that add either red chillies, brown sugar, potatoes, coconut milk etc, but that varies based on personal tastes, preferences and regions.

I have adapted the recipe to suit our tastes, but I learnt the recipe originally from Aate Rhea, who was my cook at one point. It tastes best with hot rice and steamed vegetables.

Recipe credit : Aate Rhea

Ingredients:

1. Pork - 1/2 kg (2 inch cubes)
2. Garlic - 6 flakes
3. Crushed peppercorn - 1/2 tsp
4. Bay leaves - 2 nos
5. Dry red chilly - 2 , roughly torn
6. Soy sauce - 1/4 cup
7. Vinegar - 2 tbsp
8. Coconut milk - 200 ml
9. Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped garlic and fry for a minute. Add the pork cubes, and fry till they are browned.
2. Add all ingredients except coconut milk and cook till the pork is almost done.
3. Add the coconut milk and cook till the pork is done.
4. Go easy on salt as the soy sauce is salty. I usually don't add any salt as it turns out just fine.

Note:

1. Aate Rhea's recipe does not call for coconut milk, red chilly or oil. So you can follow the same recipe and skip those ingredients. Just combine everything in a pan, and cook till done.
2. You may also use 1/2 tbsp. chilly flakes if you do not have dried red chilly.