A basic pork stew recipe is an absolute must in any Filipino cook’s repertoire. After all, if you need a hearty dish to feed plenty of people, or a filling one that’s perfect for celebrations or fiestas without too much fuss or complication, a pork stew is a ready crowd-pleaser that everyone is bound to eat. This one is a simple variation that makes use of soy sauce and a little bit of brown sugar to add flavor to soft pork tenderloin, and with fried plantain bananas, green peas and carrots to add some freshness to this dish, you’ll have whipped up a plateful to put a smile on everyone’s faces in no time. The secret here is really the overnight marinating of the meat with soy sauce and pepper to ensure that it absorbs all that flavor, as well as the later addition of star anise and bay leaf—the spices make a huge difference in the final result!
Pork Estofado Recipe
Pork Estofado Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 kilo pork tenderloin or belly cut into cubes
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 star anise optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 plantain bananas cut in bite size fried
- 1 small carrot cut in bite size
- 1/4 cup green peas
- 1/2 cup soy sauce for marinating
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3-4 tbsp brown sugar
- pepper to taste
- cooking oil
- enough water to cover the meat
Instructions
- Marinate pork with soy sauce and black pepper for at least 1 hour (overnight is preferred.)
- Slice plantain bananas into half or bite size and fry until all sides are light brown. Do not over fried. Set aside.
- After marinating, sear the pork in a hot pan until all sides are brown. Remove the oil and set aside.
- In the same pan, add a new cooking oil. Saute the onion and garlic untilfragrant.
- Pour in soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, bay leaves, star anise, and water enough to cover the meat. Bring to boil and simmer over low heat until the pork is tender.
- Put the fried pork back and stir for a few minutes.
- When pork is tender, add the carrots, green peas and fried plantainbananas. Simmer for few minutes until carrots are tender. Pepper to taste. Turn off heat.
