Recipe | Binagoongang Kangkong with Adobo Bisaya

I admit I love fatty food, and I love fatty cuts of pork. I know, it is something I should learn to eat less of, and I think I am a little victorious in avoiding it (thanks to my dear brother who takes out the fat whenever he cooks), but there are times that I crave for it. Although it's a hard habit to break, I want to make sure I include vegetables in my meals, so when I saw this recipe printed on the pages of Breakfast Magazine (August - September 2012 issue), I knew I just have to try it.


Binagoongang Kangkong with Adobo Bisaya
Recipe by: Chef Myke Sarthou of Tatung's Garden
{serves 6}

Ingredients (Adobo Bisaya)

• 1.5 kilograms pork belly, cut into large chunks
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 8 cloves garlic
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 cups vinegar
• 2 cups oil

How to Cook (Adobo Bisaya)

• Marinate pork in the vinegar mixture overnight. 
• Add the oil and simmer in low fire until all liquid is reduced and pork fat is rendered.
• Fry the pork in its own fat until crispy.

Ingredients (Binagoongang Kangkong)

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon bagoong (fermented shrimp paste)
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Leaves from 2 bunches of Kangkong

How to Cook (Binagoongang Kangkong)

• Saute garlic and bagoong. Add sugar and vinegar and saute the Kangkong leaves.

I don't know if the bagoong to be used should be those pinkish ones that can be bought at the market or the bottled ones. For this, I used the bottled ones and although it tasted good, my tastebuds were craving for something coco-creamy. :) As for the adobo, I learned that the pork has to be cut big because it shrinks upon cooking, and frying it in its own fat further reduces its size. Be prepared for some oil splatters when cooking the adobo, but as long as you keep the fire real low, cooking it will be quite easy.

The combination of both dishes were great. I didn't add a lot of salt into my marinade as I know the bagoong would be salty, so I ended up with slightly tangy adobo, which paired well to the slightly sweet-salty Kangkong.

For sure, you can use any cut of pork for this dish, but if you plan to use real lean pork, make sure it's the tender cut because even if you boiled the pork to make it tender prior to frying it, the meat could still be a little chewy tough when eaten.