How To Cook The Best Pork Adobo With Tofu (Fried)

Are you the kind of person who always craves healthy foods while enjoying pork too? This other version of the most loved Filipino dish is here to satisfy your cravings and even exceed them, also!

Pork adobo with fried Tofu (bean curd) is a way of turning this particular dish into something extraordinary. While this recipe has all the traditional ingredients in it, bean curd is an ideal addition because it absorbs much more flavor, and it needs a lot less marinating time.

It is hard to turn your back on something that you like ultimately. We, Filipinos, are known for eating a lot like a King. We eat what our tummies crave, but on the other hand, we are also health-conscious and want to enjoy delicious food without feeling guilty about it.

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What Is This Particular Dish

So Adobo, one of the most-loved Filipino dishes, was modified with fried Tofu. In this type of Filipino recipes, we are gradually cutting red meat consumption to maintain normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels and alternating some meat with bean curd.

On a more serious note, it shows everyone how you can easily convert any traditional Filipino recipes to another version or form by merely adding new and readily available ingredients. It will make your cooking experience more fun because you adjust or alter recipes based on your preference and cravings.

As the saying goes, “The mind is like Tofu. It tastes like whatever you marinate it in.” – Sylvia Boorstein.

It is not the bean curd that makes it unique. Your heart and the ingredients make this very delicious and savory dish extra special than the other ones.

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Different Ways To Cook This Best Pork Adobo With Tofu

You can utilize different methods in making this incredibly delicious that you can choose from, depending on your preference, of course. Whether you have so much time on your hands or in a super rush, you can still make our dish. These ways are the following:

Gas cooktop

This method of preparing this dish is the most common among us Filipinos. With it, the change of heat can easily be incorporated, unlike electric kitchen equipment. You have a better sense of temperature control in tenderizing the pork while letting it absorb all its spices and seasonings. 

Slow Cooker

If you want to take your time in cooking this particular dish, well, a slow cooker is the perfect kitchen tool for you. This device allows your pork to tenderize very well while releasing its natural flavor and taste. You can maximize your time when you use it. You can put all the ingredients inside it, including the meat, spices, bean curd, and other seasonings, in the morning, go to work and leave it there the whole day. 

Pressure cooker or Instant Pot

Since pressure cookers or instant pot cooks food above the boiling temperature, our featured dish will cook the fastest when they’re used instead of the two above mentioned methods. You can savor your adobong baboy in as fast as 30 minutes, which is an excellent advantage if you are in a rush and running late to cook for lunch or dinner.

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Tips For Your Recipes

To ensure that your dish will turn out successful and delicious, you have to keep an eye on everything starting from the ingredients, preparation up to the cooking process. For that reason, we have listed some tips that would help you a lot should you finally decide to serve this featured dish to your family and friends.

• Buy only the excellent quality ingredients (meat, tokwa, spices) of the products you will use to avoid foodborne illnesses. It will ensure that you will serve only the healthiest and most delicious for your family.
• Before you use Tofu as one of your main ingredients, you have to press or drain it first for at least 30 minutes to take all the liquid out of it. 
• Bean curd has no taste at all. So if you want it to have delicious Tofu, you might as well marinate it with seasonings for an hour up to overnight.      
• For you to have such crispy bean curds or tokwa, cornstarch is the solution for you. Toss it in a bowl of cornstarch and have it lightly coated to get that crispy outside.
• Never put oil in your tokwa marinade as it may cause it not to absorb the seasonings you added.
• If you use citrus in your marinade for bean curd, roll it first before slicing. It will allow you to get more citrus juices out of it.
• Use a nonstick pan in frying the tokwa as it has tendencies to stick to the kitchen tool where it is fried.                
• Follow recipes so you will not need to worry about the final taste of your dish. You will also need only minor adjustments in the spices if you want to if you did that.                           

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Troubleshooting Your Pinoy Adobo Recipe

In case you encountered kitchen dilemmas like pouring too much soy sauce, vinegar, or water on your dish, do not lose confidence thinking that you failed miserably in making this dish. We have listed some solutions you may consider in saving your finished product should you, unfortunately, make a mistake during the whole process.

You put too much vinegar in your adobo recipe

If you did not follow any recipe and you happened to pour too much vinegar in your pot, add a pinch of baking soda. This ingredient will neutralize the acidic sour taste and mask it off somehow.

You poured too much soy sauce

This kitchen mishap is so common if you tend to pour all ingredients at once when cooking. If this miserable situation happens, save your dish by adding more garlic and sugar to balance the taste. You may opt to add vinegar, too.  

The sauce is too runny

If you finished cooking this particular dish and your outcome turns out to be too runny for your liking, you can use a thickening agent. Mix a tablespoon of cornstarch with a small amount of water. Make sure that the cornstarch is diluted well and that there is no curdled starch powder. Add this to your pot or pan, and then boil. You will surely see quite a difference right after.

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Recipe Trivia

The inclusion of Tofu in the list of ingredients of our featured dish added a twist. But even if you commonly use tokwa in cooking, there are surprising things about it that you might still not know. Among these are the following:

• Just so you know, Tofu is a curd made from mashed soybeans, used chiefly in Asian and vegetarian cooking. It is made of condensed soy milk pressed into hard, white blocks quite similar to cheesemaking, which originated from China.

• Bean curds are an ideal source of protein and contain all nine essential amino acids. It is also a perfect source of iron and calcium and the minerals manganese, selenium phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zinc, and vitamin B1.

• Rumor has it that a Chinese cook discovered bean curd more than 2,000 years ago by accidentally mixing a batch of fresh soy milk with nigari. Nigari is what remains when salt is extracted from seawater. It is a mineral-rich coagulant used to help bean curd solidify and keep its form.

• You can use bean curds in making desserts because of their bland taste. Among these desserts are cakes, pies, and custards.

• Once you put the vinegar, boil it without the pan or pot cover to get rid of the acid taste before pouring in the soy sauce.

• Did you know that Tofu turns yellow when frozen? Yes, it does. But take note that it returns to its original color once thawed.

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Variations

Depending on what ingredients available, Filipinos made it possible to create different variations of our highlighted dish, which are all equally unique and delicious. Among the most common versions that are famous and well-loved nationwide are as follows:

With Pineapple

Adding pineapple chunks to the usual recipes is something to look forward to in our featured dish. The slightly sour taste of the juicy pineapple adds a twist to the viand, making it more tasteful and savory. The chunks are added last together with the other seasoning adjustments you prefer and boiled for at least two minutes. Both the children and adults will love this variation.

With Sitaw or String Beans

Our featured dish is also commonly cooked with sitaw or string beans. For you to have this delicious variation, add the string beans last and let it boil for at least 15 minutes or when they are crispy enough for your liking.

Paksiw version

If ever you have leftover Adobo and you want to add another twist to this typical dish, add Lechon sauce to the list of your ingredients. It is easy to make as you will only add the sauce and bring it to a boil. And there you have it, a unique and delicious viand perfect for lunch or dinner.

Using meatballs

This variation needs you to follow any of the meatball recipes you have there before starting. Once you are done with the balls and seasoned them well, follow the original instructions and procedures. Your kids will surely love this twist to our featured dish for their dinner.

Fried Chicken Adobo

The fried chicken version of our highlighted dish is relatively easy to make. You only have to soak the chicken in the marinade made from soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaf, and ground black pepper. Seal it on a plastic or keep it covered inside a food container, and leave it overnight inside the refrigerator. 

The next day, remove the chicken from the container, drain it well, and toss it on a breading mix or any flour mixture until all parts are coated. Fry them, drain the excess oil after frying, and then serve while still hot.

Spicy Version

If you are craving something hot and spicy and, at the same time, want to savor our delicious and specially presented dish, why not combine the best of these two worlds? You only have chilis or chili powder to the original adobo recipes, and then you are done. Easy right?

With creamy coconut milk or gata

To add extra creaminess and texture to this particular dish, you only add coconut milk or gata to your ingredient list. It will be perfect whatever main ingredient you choose for your recipes, be it chicken, seafood, or pork meat. It will also be ideal to use vegetables like string beans, labong or bamboo shoots, and bean curd.

Healthy Vegan version

If you prefer not to eat any meat, making this dish is still possible if you use vegetables such as string beans or sitaw, eggplants, cabbage, Tofu, and squash. This version will give that same savory taste of our dish but in a healthier account.

Using fish as the main ingredient

You may also opt to use fish instead of any meat like pork or beef. You may have your fish fried first before you put them in the other boiled ingredients. You can also simmer it with the others as it absorbs all the spices and seasonings. Galunggong or round scads, bangus or milkfish, tilapia, and yellowfins are just some of your possible options. 

Using seafood as the main ingredient

Considering you have an extra budget and can afford seafood like squids, shrimps, and oysters, try using them as our dish’s main ingredients. You will follow the original instructions and procedures but note the simmering time as seafood becomes tender faster than chicken, pork, or beef.

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Other Superb Pinoy Recipes To Serve With

Filipinos love to pair their food with other dishes. This way, they have and enjoy a very satisfying dining experience. Enumerated below are other foods that will complement our featured dish superbly. Try them, and you will never regret it, we assure you.

Steamed Rice

The most ideal and standard pair you can have featured this with is a bowl of hot, steamed rice. Pouring the sauce over your rice and savoring them together inside your mouth is indeed a match made in heaven.

Crispy Pata ng Baboy

The crispness and crunchiness of crispy pasta eaten with our dish and steamed rice are on a different level of savoriness, we are telling you. It adds a rough texture to our viand, making you forget your diet and ask for more rice.

Sizzling Sisig

Crispy sizzling sisig on a plate paired with our dish is another thing to try if you want to have a hearty lunch or dinner. Imagine the crunchiness you will experience as you bite the sisig with the tender meat that shreds as you slice is like the most delicious thing ever. You should give this combination a try.

Pinoy Lumpiang Shanghai

The crispy nature of lumpiang shanghai adds another layer of texture to our featured dish. It makes it more meaty and tasty even when eaten with just plain rice. So yummy that your kids will indeed love this combination, too.

Pancit

Try this combination if you don’t feel like pairing our featured dish with steamed rice. The flavor of pancit, whether Bihon or Canton, will add another layer of delicious taste to it, completing and making your meal extra remarkable.

Leche Flan

After savoring a very hearty and heavy meal with our featured dish, you will have to eat something sweet like a dessert. For that reason, Leche flan is a perfect one to devour because its creamy, delicious, and softness will remove the slightly sour and salty aftertaste. 

Achara

Achara is made of pickled papaya preserved with lots of vinegar and other spices. Eating this after finishing your meal is recommended, especially if our dish’s leftover taste still lingers in your mouth even after drinking water or any refreshments.

Buko Pandan

Another creamy Filipino dessert to consider after eating is the Buko Pandan. Its creaminess and sweetness will complement the salty and sour taste of our featured dish.

Orange Juice

After any meal, a glass of ice-cold orange juice is a perfect refreshment. It will help in your body’s proper digestion and will also take away the aftertaste of the food you consumed in your lunch or dinner.

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Conclusion

Filipinos are very fond of eating, that is why they are famous for their extraordinarily delicious dishes. And with their undeniable creativity, they have tried and successfully recreated and altered the foods they have grown to love and savor. Their resourcefulness made them use the readily available ingredients, and one of those is our highlighted dish. We hope that we could teach you how to prepare and make it most easily and quickly through this food blog. 

We are anticipating to see you again on your next mission in the kitchen. Good luck and happy cooking!

For more delicious recipe, visit Eat Like Pinoy!

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