Pork (Chicken) Adobo

Ingredients

• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1 head garlic
• 2 lbs pork (chops, steaks or sliced stir fry)
• 1 cup white vinegar, additional may be needed
• 1-2 cup water
• 1/4-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, enough for browning
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. 1

   Finely dice the onion and garlic (note that this is a whole head of garlic, not just a single clove.).

2. 2

   Brown the finely diced onion and the garlic in a large pot with a little oil.

3. 3

   Cut the pork or chicken into 1”x1” to 1”x3” pieces. If using bone-in, just cut away some of the larger pieces from the bone.

4. 4

   Add the 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water to the onion/garlic.

5. 5

   Bring it to a low boil at about medium-high.

6. 6

   Add the meat and continue to cook at or near boiling for a minimum of 20 minutes.

7. 7

   Sometime during the 20 minutes, add the balsamic vinegar (to taste). I usually cook it for more than 20 minutes. The extra time doesn’t hurt the meat and actually makes it tenderer (Probably because of the vinegar).

8. 8

   With about ten minutes left, add the soy sauce.

9. 9

   If you cook it as long as I do (30-40 minutes), you will want to have an extra cup of water and some vinegar (white) on hand since the mixture will probably reduce too much.

10. 10

    When the meat is tender, pull it out of the gravy and brown it in a little oil in a separate pan. I sometimes sprinkle a little bit of paprika on it at this point for both color and flavor.

11. 11

    While the meat is browning use a cold water roux made from a one-to-one ratio of cornstarch and water to thicken the remaining gravy.

12. 12

    The meat can be remixed with the gravy after browning or served separately. I usually put the meat and gravy together and serve it over the rice. Sometimes I serve the chicken and rice separately, dousing both with gravy.