Pork Adobo with String Beans

Sophia and I were cleaning the house when she requested her ultimate favorite ulam for lunch. And since we still have veggies left from our Nueca Ecija trip, I cooked Pork Adobo with String Beans! You might have already read or seen a hundred ways to cook this super easy Pinoy dish but if you want a base recipe that you can always go back to for days when you can't think of anything to cook, here it is. 

You can just tweak the ingredients depending on how you want your adobo – soupy, salty, sweet or garlicky.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 Kilo pork cubes
- 1 bunch sitaw, cut 1 1/2 to 2 inches
- 6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Salt and pepper
- 2 laurel/bay leaves
- cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, salt and pepper to the pork cubes. Mix altogether and marinate for at least an hour. Put it in the chiller.

2. When marinating's done, heat oil in your kawali. Add roughly chopped garlic and cook until golden brown.

3. Set aside and brown the meat.

4. Pour the marinade and water. Cover and cook until meat is tender.

5. Add the sitaw and cook until desired texture. We want it crunchy and dark green so 5 minutes in the heat is good enough for it. Serve and enjoy!

If you want a soupy adobo, double the liquid ingredients. If you want it garlicky, put garlic in the marinade, too. There's no standard formula to a delicious adobo. It all depends on how you like it! So, how do you want yours?