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filipino-pork-adobo-fast-slow
Instant Pot

Filipino Pork Adobo

4-6 Servings

FAST: 1 hour 20 minutes
Slow: 4½ to 5½ hours 25 minutes active

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Adobo may well be the national dish of the Philippines, and each household has its own version. The defining flavors are vinegar, garlic, black pepper, bay and salt in some form (often soy sauce). For this version of pork adobo, instead of the oft-used pork belly, we opted for boneless shoulder because it is easier to find in supermarkets but still is rich and flavorful. Honey, or any type of sweetener, is an unconventional ingredient in adobo, but we liked the way it balanced the salty and sour flavors in the dish. The serranos give the braise a gentle spiciness; if you prefer, use just one chili or keep both whole. Serve this over rice to soak up the sauce.

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4-6

Servings

Tip

Don’t use regular soy sauce or the adobo will end up too salty. When cooking the scallion whites, garlic and bay, don’t overstir; the goal is to develop deep browning, which builds flavor in the dish. And don’t forget to press Cancel to turn off the pot before adding the soy and vinegar. This prevents the liquids from evaporating too quickly.

FAST: 1 hour 20 minutes
Slow: 4½ to 5½ hours

25 minutes active

Ingredients

  • 2

    tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil

  • 2

    bunches scallions, white and light green parts cut into 1-inch pieces, green parts thinly sliced, reserved separately

Directions

  1. 01
    On a 6-quart Instant Pot, select More/High Sauté. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the scallion whites, garlic and bay, then cook without stirring until golden brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Stir and continue to cook, stirring only once or twice, until darkly browned, about another 2 minutes. Press Cancel, then stir in the soy, vinegar, honey, serranos and 1 teaspoon pepper, scraping up any browned bits. Add the pork; stir to combine, then distribute in an even layer.
Reviews
Derek V.
June 25, 2022
New family favorite
Made exactly as described. Served with steamed basmati rice and green beans almondine. Everyone was in love. This is our new favorite out of the instant pot cookbook relegating the awesome Korean style baby back ribs to runner up.
Kathy-Lee W.

Is there a recipe, or a hack to make this withOUT an Instant Pot?

Janelle C.

We’re so glad you're exploring our recipes. When we developed the recipes for our Instant Pot book, Fast and Slow, we offered pressure cooker and slow cooker instructions for every recipe that worked well cooked either way. Recipes that have only one set of instructions did not produce good results when prepared with the alternative method. And unfortunately, it’s not possible for us to reverse engineer Instant Pot recipes for stovetop cooking. But the good news is that many of them were inspired by recipes we’d already prepared for conventional cooking methods. If you check our website, you might find what you are looking for.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Heather R.

Step one and three on the stove, step two in the slow cooker worked for me.

Amanda S.

I browned it in the instant pot and then slow cooked it. I used dark soy sauce because I didn't have low sodium, didn't cut the pork quite small enough so it took longer, and forgot the thickening step at the end. Even with all those mistakes it was fantastic. My kids loved it and want me to make it again.

Terrilin P.

Very delicious. I was surprised because I'm pretty stuck up about adobo. Minor tweaks: Apple cider vinegar instead of plain, and I added fish sauce.

Emilio d.

I am a Filipino food purist, but I’m eating more vegetarian/vegan. If I substitute the pork for tofu or Portabello mushrooms to make it vegetarian, would it require the same cooking time?

Lynn C.

Hi Emilio -

Unfortunately, we didn't test this with either tofu or mushrooms so we can't give instructions for substituting with those ingredients in the Instant Pot.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

John M.

This was excellent and very easy to prepare. I halved the recipe to fit in my 3-Qt. IP Mini, but I think I could have gotten away with making the full recipe in it. Used apple cider vinegar as suggested above and I'll probably add some oyster sauce for umami next time. And there will be a next time. Thanks again, Milk Street team!

Linda H.

I made this using large jalapenos instead of serranos. It was full of flavor and my audience wants me to make it again. It looked like I could have doubled the recipe but then the meat would have been in more layers. Would this be a problem? Has anyone doubled the recipe successfully?