Adobo is one of the most popular dishes in the Philippines and is considered by many as our national dish. It is not suprising then that from household to household, from one region to the next, variations of this ubiquitous stew abound.
This pork ribs adobo with atsuete or otherwise known as adobong pula is an Ilonggo example of how we prepare and enjoy our adobo. A very interesting interpretation, it adds minced ginger and annatto to the usual ingredients of garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. The procedure is basically the same as the classic adobo and it takes but a simple braising to get this deliciousness on the dinner table. A little word of caution, atsuete lends not only natural coloring but a slight bitterness to the dish so use it sparingly. After the meat has sufficiently simmered in the liquid and the sauce is halfway reduced, add a tablespoon or so of sugar to pull all the flavors beautifully. Oh, don’t forget the rice. You’ll need lots.
- 3 pounds baby back ribs, cut into individual ribs
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 thumb-sized ginger, peeled and minced
- ½ tablespoon annatto powder
- 1 cup vinegar
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1 cup water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
- In wide pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring regularly until aromatic. Add atsuete powder and cook, stirring regularly, for about 1 minute.
- Add pork ribs and cook, stirring regularly to coat with annatto color, for about 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly seared.
- Add vinegar and bring to a boil, uncovered and without stirring, for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add soy sauce and water. Bring to a boil. Add bay leaves. Lower hear, cover and continue to cook for about 40 to 50 minutes or until meat is fork tender and sauce is reduced as desired. Add brown sugar and stir to disperse. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
I followed this recipe to a T, and was left with a very sour adobo. No matter how much water I added to dilute the sourness, it’s still very sour. So very disappointed. I was so excited to try this recipe. I called my mom to ask why it’s so sour, and after telling her the measurements for the ingredients, she said 1cup vinegar is way too much, that it should be for every 1cup soy sauce, the vinegar should be 1/4cup – 1/2cup. This recipe has the opposite (1cup vinegar and 1/2cup soy sauce). Lesson learned (sigh).
Hi Lailanie,
I am sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. I use 1 cup or 8 ounces of vinegar when I make adobo and it really isn’t a lot considering we’re using 3 pounds of pork ribs. The trick is after you add the vinegar, you need to let it simmer uncovered and without stirring for a good few minutes to cook off the strong acid taste. This step is actually in the recipe card but I’ll definitely add this tip on the post. Again, I am sorry, I know how frustrating it is to spend so much time and ingredients on a recipe for it not turn out well.
I followed the recipe to a T, and I was left with a very sour adobo. 🙁 I was so disappointed. I called my mom and asked her why it’s so sour. I told her the measurements for the recipe and she said 1cup vinegar is way too much, that it should be 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup for every 1 cup soy sauce. I’m so bummed! I was so excited for this recipe. Lesson learned (sigh).
Sarap to…
Yes, super sarap 🙂
Ohoho!~ I can’t even imagine how this would be perfect dish for the upcoming return of my husband from Dubai! He loves meat and I will add green chilli pepper for more spicy twist! Thank you for this!
I am sure these ribs will be nice welcome for him. Is pork available in Dubai?
Green chili pepper sounds good, I love spicy foods, too 🙂
I did this recipe tonight. Hubby and my son, enjoyed it!! There are some leftovers too. They don’t mind it again, “will taste better tomorrow” as my son quoted!!
Thanks so much for posting.
Your photo food look so very hungry.
nakakatakam.. 🙂 thank you lalaine, ribs are surely on my list this saturday! enjoy you visit and ingat!
Mmm Namit! 🙂
It looks so yummy ,im gonna try to cook this on next day off.. Thank you for sharing your recipes