Filipino Whole30 Eats: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Adobo

Another Sunday, another family lunch at my mother’s place. This time I made what is arguably the quintessential Filipino dish: pork adobo. No rundown of Filipino cuisine would be complete without it, so of course this food project has to have a Whole30 version.

Adobo has always tasted best when cooked slowly: simmering in a pot in low heat for a long time, letting the meat tenderize, allowing all the flavors to blend and infuse the meat. I decided to take this idea even further and go all out and make this batch the way some people do kalua pork: in a slow cooker for a really, really, really long time.

It came out great: fork tender and adobo juicy. My sister and I prepared some salad fixings, and my family had it as part of a main course salad dish.

My plate: pork adobo salad with lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, singkamas (jicama), and guacamole

Translations

Adobo (ah-doh-boh): various meat and vegetable dishes simmered or braised in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic; the most popular versions are pork and chicken adobo

Singkamas (sing-kah-mahs): jicama

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 3 lb. pork shoulder roast (bone-in or boneless)
• 1/2 cup coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute)
• 1/3 cup white vinegar (for greatest authenticity, use cane vinegar)
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorn
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1. Mix the coconut aminos, vinegar, garlic, peppercorn, and salt in a small bowl. Pour over the pork roast and marinate for at least 30 minutes, flipping the roast midway.
2. Put the pork in your slow cooker, pour the marinade in, and place the bay leaves on top of the pork.
3. Set your slow cooker to low and set your timer to 16 hours. (You heard right: 16 hours. So yes, planning ahead is a must for this dish.) 
4. Once done, discard the bay leaves and transfer the pork roast into a big bowl and shred it with two forks. Ladle some of the juices left in the slow cooker into the pork bowl a little at a time while mixing the shredded pieces. Continuously sample the pork until you have the flavor just the way you like it.
5. Feed your hungry self/family/friends.

Alternative cooking method: If you prefer to make adobo the conventional way, use cut up pork instead of a roast, put the pork and all the other ingredients plus a cup or two of water in a pot, and bring it to a boil. Then lower the heat and let simmer uncovered until the sauce is reduced. If you want, you can brown the pork in hot cooking fat first, or after it has been simmered. Shred the meat or not as you please.

Makes 5 or more servings. You can serve it in a salad the way we did, or as a main course protein, or with cauliflower rice, or with plantain nachos, or any number of other ways.

How this is Whole30

Coconut aminos subbed for noncompliant soy sauce. Coconut aminos is sweet compared to the soy sauce we normally use, which is on the salty side, so be sure to add some salt to make up the difference.

• About Whole30