Adobo—both a style of preparation as well as the name of a dish—is one of the most widely known foods of the Philippines, often referred to as its national dish. As Nicole Ponseca and Miguel Trinidad write in I Am a Filipino: And This is How We Cook, adobo originated as a preservation technique and “can be broadly defined as anything cooked in vinegar. […] Depending on the region, the province, the city, or even the cook, the dish changes due to the Philippines’ own ocean-to-farm-to-table foodways.” To make adobo, which can be wet (very saucy) or dry (crispier and less soupy), pork, chicken, tubers, vegetables, squid, lamb, shrimp, or even duck, is simmered in vinegar, often with soy sauce, black peppercorns, and bay leaves. This recipe channels the same flavors of bright vinegar and dark soy sauce, using eggplant as the base, with the addition of ground pork for extra richness. Although this dish will work well with any eggplant, try it in late summer when they reach their peak at the farmers market. Serve alongside plenty of steamed rice to sop up all the sauce.
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What you’ll need
Measuring Spoons
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Cutting Board
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Chef's Knife
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Medium Bowl
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Dutch Oven
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Wooden Spoon
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Recipe information
Yield
2 main-course servings or 4 side-dish servings
Ingredients
1
2
1¼
1½
8
3
4
3
2
2
Preparation
Step 1
Slice 1 lb. small Japanese or Italian eggplant (about 3) into quarters lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 2"-wide pieces. Place in a medium bowl. Add 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Toss to evenly coat eggplant and let sit at room temperature at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Step 2
Peel and thinly slice 8 garlic cloves. Add 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil and half of garlic to a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until light golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer garlic chips to a plate; season lightly with salt.
Step 3
Place 4 oz. ground pork in same pot and break up into small pieces with wooden spoon. Season with ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt and cook, undisturbed, until deeply browned underneath, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to another plate, leaving fat behind in pot.
Step 4
Place eggplant on a clean kitchen towel and blot away any moisture the salt has drawn out.
Step 5
Working in batches and adding more oil if needed, cook eggplant in same pot until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate with pork.
Step 6
Pour 1½ cups water into pot and scrape up browned bits from bottom with wooden spoon. Add remaining garlic, 3 Tbsp. coconut vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, and remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar. Bring to a simmer, then return pork and eggplant to pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer until eggplant is tender and silky and sauce is reduced by half, 20–25 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper and add a little more sugar if needed.
Step 7
Top with garlic chips and serve with cooked white rice.
Leave a Review
Reviews (67)
Back to TopThe flavor of this dish is outstanding. We don’t eat meat so I crumbled 16 oz of extra-firm tofu which I seasoned with 1.75 T nutritional yeast, 2 T olive oil, 3 T soy sauce, 1 t smoked paprika, 1 t garlic powder, ½ t cumin, ½ t onion powder. I used 1.75 lbs of Japanese eggplant because we love eggplant and I doubled the sauce. Served it with brown rice. What an excellent meal.
Deborah
California
6/13/2024
Loved this! I definitely recommend doubling it. It was exactly enough for two adults, but I always like to have some leftovers. I loved how the eggplant was the star and pork was there for flavor. I used rice vinegar and it was a little strong, so I'd halve it next time and taste before adding more. I'd also add some basil or other herb if I had something on hand.
Nicole
CA
8/31/2022
Love this recipe! Used small Italian eggplant and about the suggested amount of water (doctored up with a bit of Better Than Bouillon chicken stock) and it worked fine. I skipped the addition of salt to the ground pork when I cooked it, thinking there was enough salt in the recipe from other sources, but I wish I had seasoned it a bit, because it stands out as a little bland in the final dish. Corn is in season here now, so I added kernels from 3 ears of it near the end - totally unauthentic, I'm guessing, but it tasted nice and added a pop of color.
Dan W
Connecticut
8/25/2022
I made lots of mistakes on my first pass through this recipe, but it’s bullet proof! Great flavors, although I did burn the garlic slices; pay attention, don’t turn your back for a second on this step! I doubled the quantities for a larger crowd, and overcrowded the pan a bit, which slowed down the timing. I also added 12 ounces of cremini mushrooms with the pork, because I like mushrooms in everything. We’ll def add this one to the rotation.
Barbara in Phila
Philadelphia
8/12/2022
I make this recipe with ground chicken or ground beef. It's super delicious. One of my favorite cooking methods: adobo!!!
Angel
Albania
1/29/2022
I make this recipe with vegetarian sausage and it is heaven.
Anonymous
Cleveland Ohio
12/10/2021
Second time ever cooking with eggplants (they're intimidating okay!) and I was not disappointed. This recipe is a gem, except for the portion size. I did not make nearly enough for how delicious it was, and how much the fam loved it.
Tayla
Alexandria, VA
11/23/2021