Humba (HOOM-BAA) is a Filipino dish similar to adobo, and popular in central part of the Philippines, particularly among the Visayan speaking people.
The method of cooking is similar to adobo (chicken or lean pork) by simmering the meat in a marinade of soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, bay leaf, and peppercorns.
The difference is the type of meat used which is pork belly, which has skin, fat, and lean portions.
Many Filipinos cook humba without rendering the pork fat, and that is okay.
But I grow up eating humba the way my Mama does it which is to remove most fat from the meat by placing the sliced pork belly in a dry skillet and cooking it on medium heat.
The fat will melt slowly, and the meat becomes golden brown and crispy. This results in a less greasy humba later on.
This recipe takes approximately 2 hours to cook but I guarantee it’s going to be worth the wait. This is a very soft, melt-in-your mouth humba. So get your rice ready and make sure you have lots of it!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hours, 30 minutes
Yields: 6-8 servings
Ingredients:
2 lbs. pork belly, cut into 1 1/2-inch squares
1 pack dried banana blossoms
¼ cup salted black beans (tausi), drained
½ cup soy sauce
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
½ cup brown sugar
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 dry bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
4 cups water
Tools You’ll Need:
12″ frying pan or skillet (preferrably non-stick)
Kitchen tong
Cooking pot
Knife
Cutting board
Procedure:
1. Rinse meat thoroughly under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, arrange pork belly slices in one layer and pan-fry until most of the oil comes out. If you use a smaller pan, you may do this in two batches.
(Note: Be extra careful during this step because hot oil can splatter and burn you. Use a splatter guard or keep the pan covered and cook on low heat setting. The latter choice may lengthen the cooking time, but much safer to my opinion based on my experience. I tried both techniques and found cooking on low and covering the pan reduces oil splatter significantly.)
3. Once the meat turns brown and most of the fat has rendered, remove from heat and transfer to a cooking pot.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients into the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium low and simmer for an hour until pork has become tender and sauce has thickened.
5. Serve with rice.
- 2 lbs. pork belly, cut into 1½-inch squares
- 1 pack dried banana blossoms
- ¼ cup salted black beans (tausi), drained
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 4 cups water
- Rinse meat thoroughly under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, arrange pork belly slices in one layer and pan-fry until most of the oil comes out. If you use a smaller pan, you may do this in two batches.
- (Note: Be extra careful during this step because hot oil can splatter and burn you. Use a splatter guard or keep the pan covered and cook on low heat setting. The latter choice may lengthen the cooking time, but much safer to my opinion based on my experience. I tried both techniques and found cooking on low and covering the pan reduces oil splatter significantly.)
- Once the meat turns brown and most of the fat has rendered, remove from heat and transfer to a cooking pot.
- Add the rest of the ingredients into the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium low and simmer for an hour until pork has become tender and sauce has thickened.
- Serve with rice.
. . ahm, . . . , ,ang sarap, . , , ng humba. . . . . . favorite q yan.
Thank you! Same here 🙂
Sobra sarap! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad you love it.
Cooking pork humba right now..