Dish of Pork & Water Spinach Adobo
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Pork & Water Spinach Adobo


Philippine   -   Adobong Kangkong

Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
2 w/rice
***
1-1/4 hrs
Part
This delicious dish has an almost smoky flavor, worthy of being widely adopted - but Water Spinach is illegal in many US states. It's widely available in California, grown by licensed farms.

10
1
6
5
------
1
2
1/4
------
1-1/2
1/4
1/2
1/4

oz
#
oz
cl
---
c

c
---
T
c
t
t

Pork lean
Ong Choy (1)  
Onion
Garlic
-- Sauce
Stock
Bay Leaf
Soy Sauce
---------
Oil
Vinegar (2)
Salt
Pepper

PREP   -   (35 min)
  1. Slice PORK into chunks about 1/2 inch thick and 3/4 inches square.
  2. Pinch Leaves from ONG CHOY stems, leaving the leaf stems attached to the main stems. Because the leaves are usually very long and prone to tangle, I plsace the whole pile on my cutting board and make one cut through the pile, then another at right angles.
  3. Discard any stem pieces more than 1/4 inch diameter and cut all stems, including leaf stems, into lengths of about 1-1/2 inch. Keep separate from the leaves.
  4. Dice ONION small. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Mix.
  5. Mix all Sauce items
RUN   -   (40 min)
  1. Heat Oil fairly hot in a wok (you'll need the space) and stir in Onion mix. Fry stirring until just translucent.
  2. Stir in Pork. Fry stirring until pork loses its raw color and starts to brown, being careful not to burn the Garlic.
  3. Stir in Stock mix, bring to a boil and simmer covered until Pork is tender, about 20 minutes.
  4. Add Vinegar. Simmer 5 minutes without stirring.
  5. Stir in Ong Choy Stems and bring back to a simmer. Simmer covered, stirring occasionally until Ong Choy stems are tender (about 4 minutes - the larger ones should remain a bit crisp).
  6. Scatter 1/3 of Ong Choy Leaves over the stew and stir in. Repeat with the other 2/3. Bring back to a simmer for about 1 minute.
  7. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper.
  8. Serve hot with plenty of steamed Jasmine rice.
NOTES:
  1. Water Spinach:

      In California this vegetable can be found in markets serving Southeast Asian communities, generally sold as "Ong Choy". It's sold in bundles weighing between 1 and 2 pounds, which can be trasported without a permit. For details see our Water Spinach page.
  2. Vinegar:

      The Philippines are the center for vinegar cuisine so they have many fine varieties of cane, palm, and coconut vinegars. My favorite is Datu Puti brand Sukang Iloco Native Vinegar, a dark, natural sugar cane vinegar. If you don't have Philippine, use a good rice vinegar. For details see our Sours page.
  3. Prep Time

      This is mostly for dealing with the the leaves and stems of the water spinach. It can be as much as 45 minutes for a difficult bunch.
  4. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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