Adobong Sitaw

Filipino long beans braised with pork belly in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and bay until the sauce clings, the national adobo applied to a vegetable

Origin: Manila & Luzon

From the journey of Cowpea.

Adobo is less a dish than a method in the Philippines: meat or vegetables braised in vinegar with garlic, bay, and black pepper, and in most households soy sauce, until the liquid has reduced to a glaze. The Spanish gave it its name, from adobar, to marinate, but the technique of cooking in vinegar is generally held to be older than their arrival, and the islands have made it their national dish. Adobong sitaw applies it to the long bean. The beans are cut into finger lengths and cooked with a little pork belly, which is browned first so that the beans cook in its fat, and the vinegar goes in and is left to boil for a minute before anyone stirs it, a rule every Filipino cook repeats, so that its raw sharpness cooks off. Sitaw is the yardlong bean, one of the vegetables Filipino cooking would be lost without: it goes into sinigang and kare-kare as well as its own adobo. Its name is Hokkien, from the language of the Fujianese traders who had sailed to Luzon for centuries before the Spanish and who filled Manila's Chinese quarter, the Parián, from the 1580s; linguists derive it either from chhiⁿ-tāu, green bean, or from si-tāu, silk-thread bean.

Ingredients

Adobo

400 g sitaw (yardlong beans), cut into 5 cm lengths
200 g pork belly, thinly sliced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, sliced (optional)
2 tbsp soy sauce
60 ml water
2 bay leaves
0.5 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed
3 tbsp cane or coconut vinegar
Salt and a pinch of sugar, to taste

To Serve

Steamed rice, to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a wide pan and fry the pork belly over a medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until the fat has rendered and the pork is lightly browned.
Add the garlic and onion and fry for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.
Add the soy sauce, water, bay leaves, and peppercorns, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes until the pork is tender.
Pour in the vinegar and let it boil for 1 to 2 minutes without stirring.
Add the beans, stir, and cook uncovered for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until they are tender but still bright and the sauce has reduced to a glaze.
Season with salt and a pinch of sugar if needed, and serve with steamed rice.

Notes

Green beans can be used if long beans are unavailable, but they cook faster and soften more. For a vegetarian version, leave out the pork, fry the garlic in 2 tablespoons of oil, and add fried firm tofu with the beans.

The Gastrographer

Name: Adobong Sitaw
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Manila & Luzon
Ingredients: 400 g sitaw (yardlong beans), cut into 5 cm lengths; 200 g pork belly, thinly sliced; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 6 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 small onion, sliced (optional); 2 tbsp soy sauce; 60 ml water; 2 bay leaves; 0.5 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed; 3 tbsp cane or coconut vinegar; Salt and a pinch of sugar, to taste; Steamed rice, to serve

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control