The salty, sour, and garlicky flavors of a classic adobo are hard to beat. It’s the perfect representation of all the flavors that Filipinos love, which is probably why we’ve found about a hundred ways to adobo everything: from the classic chicken or pork adobo, to adobo rice and flakes, regional variations, and unconventional cuts like beef shank.
This version takes it down the sweet route. The flavors from soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaf, and garlic are rounded out with caramelized brown sugar. This gives the final dish a beautiful lacquered shine, and a savory-sweet taste that will have you sucking the meat and sauce right off the bones.
Cooking ribs
Not cooking ribs for long enough results in tough meat that will make your jaw ache from how hard you need to chew. But when done right (AKA braised in broth or sauce for an hour or two), the connective tissues in bone-in cuts lock in the moisture as they cook low and slow. You’ll also get a deep, meaty flavor from letting the bones cook in the sauce. With a little bit of patience, you’ll end up with a dish that’s so flavorful and tender it might bring you to tears.
