On My Plate

Amazing and easy Pork Adobo

Whenever I tell folks that I'm making adobo, the question I oft get is, Pork? Or chicken? I have to admit, while I've dished up many a chicken adobo feast, I've never made this traditional Filipino dish with good ol' pork. I know, how can I not, considering pork is the uber-meat of Filipino cuisine. The thing is, I just don't do pork. I mean, I'll eat it, happily, and in mass quantities, but I don't really cook it.

Perhaps I'm afraid of the meat drying out, and with a dish like adobo, where the meat is stewed for a very long time in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaves, and black peppercorns, it can easily happen. Okay, so maybe it wouldn't so easily, but if it does, that's a long cooking hour wasted.

But not with this recipe. It comes from my big brother, who came up with the idea after dining at Cendrillon in New York City. The adobo at Cendrillon is quite amazing, with an additional depth of flavor that does not come in the usual simple adobo preparations. My bro guessed the "secret ingredient" and then came up with his own homestyle version here.  Rather than stewing the meat in the sauce, he first browns the meat on the stove then braises the dish in the oven. And the result? Pure perfection. The pork comes out really tender and flavorful, and the sauce so delicious you will be needing a lot of rice to sop it all up. 

Pork Adobo

3 to 4 pound pork shoulder
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic gloves, smashed and diced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 can coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
3 bay leaves
10 peppercorns

Turn oven on to 300 degrees. Dry and season the pork shoulder. Sear each side until brown, about 3 minutes in a large enough pot over medium high heat. Remove pork and saute onions in pot, about 5 minutes, with chile powder, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, making sure you scrape the bottom of the pot for any good fond from the pork.

In a roasting dish, place contents of pot, and add pork shoulder. Cover with foil, and place in oven for 2 to 3 hours. What happens after, simply, is magic. When done, remove the pork, shred it, and place into a serving bowl, with the liquid poured over it.

Serves 6-8.

(P.S. Did you figure out the secret ingredient?)

Shredding the pork before adding the sauce

Livin' Fresh & Easy

I spent a bunch of time recently visiting family in Las Vegas, and one of the first places they took me to was the new Fresh & Easy. Based out of England and with Tesco as a parent company, this grocery store chain is making welcome appearances across California, Nevada, and Arizona. The goal is to provide a neighborhood  market with affordable and healthy produce and goods. Although I'm a die-hard Trader Joe's fan, I was pretty impressed with what I found at Fresh & Easy. I can't wait till one opens up near me!

All of their produce is bundled in cute little packages--yes, I know, I know, the environment and being green and all that, but I'm such a sucker for packaging (and I recycle!) After being sticker shocked over groceries during my time in Hawai'i, everything here was so much more affordable. Perfect for grabbing on the go after work to make a quick home meal. The store even has a section in the front full of marked-down produce--they turn over their fresh stock every day, and there are often great items in the marked-down section that is quite a steal. A tray of sliced bell peppers was marked down to a dollar, and one time, a tray of six plum tomatoes went for two.

The aisles are clean, wide and neatly arranged. The weird thing is how nearly everything is packaged as a Fresh & Easy brand, with simple labels. Everything looked so uniform, with an interesting sameness that you just don't get in the usual grocery store aisle crowded with a ton of different brands. I kind of liked this look. Sure, you could find a few non Fresh & Easy brands, but most items are their own.

I spent some time hunting for pimientos--my dad was cooking up an old school Filipino dish back at the house and needed some. The Fresh & Easy staff assisted me right away when they caught me wandering the aisles, and although we found out that they don't carry such an item, they were really helpful with searching and checking, and seemed genuinely sorry that they didn't have it. That's friendly service you don't get in most grocery stores.

In the meat and seafood section, I came across a tray of ready-to-make ahi poke. Wow, fresh seafood in Nevada? It was actually quite simple to throw together and the results were delicious. The shop also offered many different already marinated meats, and also an aisle of fresh, not frozen, dinners that just needed to be heated up in an oven. One favorite: vegetable samosas.

But the ultimate treat was this: Roasted Banana gelato. Mmm-yoso already mentioned this treat a couple of months ago, and I have to agree. I found the gelato hidden at the sample station and asked the clerk if I could try some, even though it wasn't one of the current food sample options. She opened up a brand new pint and dished up several small tasting cups. And wow. Talk about heaven. Fresh caramelized banana flavor (real, not artificial) in a creamy gelato. Amazing stuff!

During my stay in Vegas, we shopped here nearly every other day, skipping the usual Smith's and even Trader Joe's. Who knew I would be so taken in with a grocery store? Then again, where else can you find this: one huge hunk.

Fresh & Easy, various locations across California, Nevada, and Arizona.