#FoodMemories: Estofado ni Aida

Marie Pascual

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

This week's heirloom recipe is sticky-sweet

SWEET AND SAUCY. This estofado recipe is a family secret, now shared with us. All photos by Marie Pascual

MANILA, Philippines – My mom took up Home Economics as her first course in college with the firm belief that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Although cooking was not her thing, it was for all intents and purposes a strategy to snag the right man.

To be fair, she did get the man — who just happened to cook better than she did [that’s what she said]. After years of marriage and practice, she passed on to me very important tips and techniques to making really good adobo, crunchy [as opposed to soggy] yet oily turon, pichi-pichi that’s firm yet chewy…

She also has signature dishes which I really love, among which is her Estafadong Baboy or Stewed Pork.

LIKE ADOBO, BUT SWEET. The over-ripe bananas make this estofado sticky — in a good way

It’s really easy to do, almost as simple as adobo, only sweet and made unique because of saging na saba, also referred to as cooking bananas or plantains. I’m not sure of its origin, but I assume it is a Filipinized version of a Spanish dish. 

Mama prefers it all liempo or pork belly because it gives you a fatty, sticky sauce which is a killer. For this recipe, I toned down the liempo with some kasim or pork shoulder.

I like it better when the bananas are over-ripe since they make the sauce sweeter and counter the sour-salty marinade of vinegar and soy sauce. 

Ingredients:

  • ¼ kg liempo, cut into cubes
  • ¼ kg kasim, cut into cubes
  • ¼ c soy sauce
  • ½ c vinegar
  • ½ T whole peppercorn
  • 2 laurel leaves, torn into pieces
  • 3-4 T sugar
  • 6-8 pieces saging na saba or plantains
  • ½ c water

1. Marinate the pork in soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorn and laurel leaves for 30 minutes

2. In a deep pot, put sugar on low heat and let it caramelize. [This is the secret!] When it turns golden, add the meat and marinade. Cover the pot and turn the heat on high.

THE SECRET'S IN THE SUGAR. Watch your pot so it won't burn

3. When it begins to boil, add water and bananas. Put the cover back on then turn down the heat to a very low simmer. Stir once in a while so the banana and sauce really “blend” together.

BLEND WITH SUGAR. Mix the plantains well will the sauce

4. Cook until sauce is reduced and pork is tender and falls of the bone. – Rappler.com

Check out our other recipes:

Marie Pascual and family

Cooking is one of Marie Pascual’s biggest expressions of love. She is a high-ranking executive in a retail company on weekdays. On weekends, she cooks up a storm for the 3 men in her life: her husband of 21 years Emi and her two college boys Jam and Miggy.

It is this same passion and curiosity that takes their family to places that are not normally included in a traveler’s itinerary.

Marie is a regular contributor to Appetite Magazine. Her food blog www.kitchenkitchiekoo.com is currently undergoing renovation so she can share more of her flavor adventures.

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!