Instant Pot Pork Adobo

Pork Adobo

Adobo is sometimes referred to as the unofficial Philippines national dish.

Filipino Adobo is most commonly made with chicken or pork. You can also make adobo with other protein.

Pork Adobo is essentially pork cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices. Even though it’s made with only a handful of everyday ingredients, it’s incredibly flavorful.

You can enjoy this appetizing and satisfying Filipino comfort food with a wide variety of side dishes.

Related Recipe: Check out our Chicken Adobo – with instructions on how to make it into a “One-Pot-Meal” with Pot-in-Pot Rice.

Flavors: Pork Adobo gives you a rich, bold flavor punch! The savory, tangy, umami flavors with a hint of sweetness & subtle spiciness burst in your mouth as you bite into the melty pork. Don’t worry! The 1 dried red chili and 4g whole black peppercorns won’t make the dish spicy. 

Textures: Tender, juicy, melty pork bites that soaked up the adobo sauce. Makes it a flavor-bursting satisfying bite.

Instant Pot makes it even easier to make pork adobo! You can save time & skip the usual marinating step. Yet it’ll still come out tender, juicy, and super flavorful.

Amy + Jacky’s Tip! The meat and adobo sauce develop an even deeper flavor profile the next day. There’s a tradeoff though! Since you’ll be reheating the meat, the texture will be slightly dryer compared to eating that melty tender bite right away.

4 Things You Need to Know Before Cooking Instant Pot Pork Adobo

1. Use Pork Belly or Pork Side Ribs

Pork belly or pork side ribs are excellent choices for this pork adobo recipe. Try your best to choose a marbled piece for the best result.

2. Filipino Soy Sauce & Filipino Vinegar

Different types, brands, and batches of soy sauce can vary in their flavor profiles, textures, aroma, and thickness. Depending on the ingredients, brewing methods, fermentation duration they use.

Since soy sauce & vinegar are essential ingredients of the adobo sauce, the quality and flavor complexity directly impacts the pork adobo.

We decided to use Philippine or Filipino Soy Sauce (aka “toyo”) & Filipino Vinegar. They are manufactured specifically to complement the taste of Filipino cuisine.

Amy + Jacky’s Tip! We taste-tested a few different Filipino soy sauces for making adobo. And we liked the Silver Swan Soy Sauce the best. 

Filipino Soy Sauce & Vinegar Substitutes: If you can’t find them in your local supermarkets, you can substitute them with regular soy sauce (or light soy sauce) and white vinegar. Make sure to taste and adjust the amount accordingly.

3. Fish Sauce

It might sound fishy, but don’t worry! Fish Sauce doesn’t make a dish taste fishy at all! It’s extremely umami-filled, thus enhancing & elevating the flavors of the dish.

From our blind taste test, Red Boat 40N fish sauce is still our favorite brand to use. 

If you can’t get your hands on Red Boat’s fish sauce, Three Crabs Brand Fish Sauce is a popular alternative.

Amy + Jacky’s Tip! Try to buy these sauces from your local Asian market. They’re usually available at a lower price. 

4. Make More Rice!

Yes! Be prepared to chow down more rice (or your favorite side dishes) with this pork adobo! The rich & flavorful pork bites, plus the adobo sauce are very easy and addictive to eat.

Step-by-Step Guide: Instant Pot Pork Adobo

Prepare Instant Pot Pork Adobo Ingredients

The ingredients for cooking pork adobo in Instant Pot are quite simple. 

Onion, Garlic, Ginger: Slice up a medium onion, crush the garlic cloves, and thinly slice the ginger.

Green Onions: Finely slice the green onions for garnish.

Pork Belly or Pork Side Ribs: Cut up 2 pounds (908g) pork belly or pork side ribs into 1.5″ thick square cubes for best results. 

For Reference: We used pork belly for the video shoot. And our pork belly shown in the above photo weigh 990g.

Saute Onion and Spices in Instant Pot

First, press “Saute” button to “Sauté More” function to heat up your Instant Pot. It’ll switch to “ON” on the screen.

Wait until it says “HOT” on the screen (takes roughly 8 minutes).

Amy + Jacky’s Tip! Make sure your Instant Pot is as hot as it can be to induce a Maillard reaction.

Now, add 1 tbsp (15ml) peanut oil or olive oil in the Instant Pot’s inner pot. Make sure the whole bottom is covered with oil.

Add sliced onion in Instant Pot, then saute for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, add in 12 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp sliced ginger, 1 tbsp (12.5g) brown sugar, 1 tsp (4g) whole black peppercorn, 1 dried red chili, and 4 dried bay leaves. Saute for another minute.

Deglaze Instant Pot

Add ¼ cup (63ml) Filipino soy sauce, ⅓ cup (83ml) regular soy sauce, ⅓ cup (83ml) Filipino vinegar, and 1 tbsp (15ml) fish sauce in Instant Pot.

Then, deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Give it a quick mix.

Pressure Cook Pork

Add 2 lbs cubed pork belly in Instant Pot. Give them a few stirs and make sure all the pork belly cubes are partially submerged in the cooking liquid. 

With Venting Knob in Venting Position. Close the lid. Then, turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.

Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 15 minutes, then Natural Release for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, release the remaining pressure by turning Venting Knob to Venting Position.

When the Floating Valve drops, open the lid carefully.

Thicken Adobo Sauce

With kitchen tongs, set aside the pork in a serving bowl. 

Then, bring the adobo sauce mixture to a simmer with the “Saute” function.

In a small mixing bowl, mix 2.5 tbsp (22.5g) cornstarch with 3 tbsp (45ml) cold water. Mix it in one third at a time until desired thickness.

Taste the adobo sauce, then season with salt or regular soy sauce if necessary. 

For Reference: we didn’t have to add any additional soy sauce or salt to our adobo sauce.

Now, place the pork cubes back into the adobo sauce.

Then, get your side dishes ready!

Garnish & Serve Instant Pot Pork Adobo

Finally, place your pork adobo in a serving bowl, then garnish with thinly sliced green onions.

Side Dishes to Serve with Pork Adobo

You can pair a wide variety of side dishes with this rich & flavor-bursting pork adobo! The deep bold flavors easily increase your appetite.

Pork Adobo goes really well with a wide variety of rice, grain, seeds such as:

• Instant Pot Rice
• Instant Pot Brown Rice
• Instant Pot Coconut Rice
• Instant Pot Fried Rice
• Instant Pot Sticky Rice
• Instant Pot Quinoa

Dinner is ready! 😀

Enjoy your flavor-bursting Instant Pot Pork Adobo! ~Amy + Jacky