I’m assuming from the title you can guess this is a meal that we enjoyed. We chose another Filipino recipe, Pork Estofado. Raymund at Ang Sarap has been a wonderful inspiration for our Filipino food selections. He made a version of this back in September and I was completely intrigued by cooking bananas in a pork dish.
It’s been a hectic week and we’re all fighting off colds, so no one is really running at full steam. We also wanted something that was going to be easy for a weeknight full of the kids’ activities. That’s why we opted to make a few adaptations to this dish, one of which was to make use of the slow cooker.
We started by bundling our spices and seasonings, including bay leaves, peppercorn, minced garlic and star anise in a cheesecloth. 
We then deboned and chopped up our pork. We chose spare rib. 
Next we browned the pork a bit on all sides in some olive oil, 
and then tossed it into the slow cooker with the cheesecloth-wrapped ingredients. We then gathered the ingredients for the sauce including soy sauce, vinegar and brown sugar. We also used a bit of ginger powder at this point. 
These ingredients were poured over the pork and cheesecloth, and we let it sit together at room temperature for 15 minutes before placing it on the heat source. We let the estofado cook on the low setting for 2-1/2 hours. 
When the pork was nearing completion, we began work on the rest of our estofado ingredients. You many notice the absence of carrots here, but that’s one vegetable that doesn’t get much love around here. Well, sometimes in stir fries, but really that’s about it. They’re not as despised as beets, but they’re also not greatly adored. 
We started by first boiling a small pot of water in which we boiled the pearl onions for two minutes. We then strained them out, sliced off the ends and removed the peels. 
Next we tossed the onions, sliced plantains, cashews and shiitake mushrooms into a large skillet. We also added a bit more brown sugar, olive oil and sake. We then poured the sauce and pork (not the cheesecloth) from the slow cooker over the other ingredients and tossed them to combine. 
We cooked the estofado over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. Once the sauce was reduced and a bit thickened, it was ready to serve. 
As you already know, the meal was a hit. It had similar flavors to the Chicken Adobo, but was more towards the sweet end of the spectrum. The pork was slightly pink and had there been bones, the meat would have fallen right off. It was succulent! The plantains, now those were interesting. They were almost potato-like and definitely served as the starch for the meal. 
Mike and I both gave the dish a solid 3 spoons. Mike liked his as much as the Chicken Adobo, but while I gave the Chicken Adobo 3 spoons, I definitely prefer the Pork Estofado. The kids certainly did too. Miss A ate all of her pork (with just a bit of prodding) and Mr. N asked for seconds and then thirds. Then when thirds weren’t enough he asked if he could have some of the pork off of everyone else’s plates. So Miss A came in with a good 3 spoons, but Mr. N said emphatically that this is a 4-spooner for him. 
I should note here, however, that both of the kids tried a bite of plantain and left the rest on their plates. Everything else disappeared though – and I believe they may have even eaten a few mushrooms – unbeknownst to them!
Print this recipe: Filipino Pork Estofado
Eat, Play, Love 
I hope you all are feeling better. Last week was the crazy week from h-e-double hockey sticks for us too. My 2 yr had croup and I had adult version and 3 family members were in the hospital (2 strokes and 1 heart attack) But everyone is fine now….okay enough of me.
This recipe sounds like something my kids will eat. I too laughed at your last comment about the mushrooms, my kids hate mushrooms. I need to be more creative in the kitchen and exposing my kids to different foods from around the world. Great post as usual!
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Oh Lisa! What a week! I’m so sorry to hear about all of your family in the hospital. That is truly a crazy (and stressful) week! How is your little guy doing? Croup is just so awful. I hate when the kids have that, it makes me feel so helpless and I feel so bad for them. All of these germs going around right now are just nasty. Miss A is still coughing – going on two weeks now. I’m feeling much better, but still dragging a bit. Well, I hope that all of your family is doing ok. What a scary week. Hugs to all of you!
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We lived in the Dominican Republic for a short time and I had a similar dish there. The recipe sounds delicious.
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You lived in the Dominican? That’s very cool! Your world travels are so inspiring!
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you made me laugh with your last sentence..I love it when the kids eat and enjoy something without knowing it. I LOVE the look on their faces when I tell them what was in the dish they loved so much
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You know, this time, I didn’t even tell them. I figured why spoil their enjoyment. LOL. I can just see their faces had they known they ate mushrooms though. I’m guessing that knowledge would have reduced Mr. N’s spoon rating just on principle. 😉
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The recipe sounds quite tasty although the plantains are a deal breaker for me. I’d leave them out and just serve the pork stew over plain rice.
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I think potatoes would work well in this too. 🙂
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very warming meal!!
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Thanks! Warming is a great way to describe it! 🙂 Thanks for visiting.
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This is very impressive considering you’ve been feeling under the weather – far more then what I’d come up with. I love the addition of plantain, be tasty as!
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At this point I was still “fighting” the cold. It won the next day – and I didn’t cook. 😉
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Wow you made this dish look so posh it can be served in a fine dining, I love the way you presented it way much better than mine. As usual thanks for trying out Filipino recipes.
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Thank you Raymund! We have just loved exploring your site. Your recipes are always so insightful and your pictures are always so appetizing. And posh…I have never thought of anything I’ve plated as posh. Now that is a great compliment! 🙂
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Sorry you’re all fighting the gunk – I can totally relate! But this dish sounds like a great compromise between full cooking and slow cooking. I’ve never made Filipino food before, but all the ingredients you used make it sound very tasty.
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I hope you guys are fighting off the gunk too! We had never made any Filipino dishes until this little adventure and I have to say it’s been a real hit around here – especially with Mr. N. He ceases to surprise me. 🙂
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How could this not be heavenly- you have my favorite things in it- the onions, the cashews abd plantains. I love the idea of all these flavors combined. Definitely a flippino dish I need to try
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It does have a ton of great things. Those little onions are just so tasty! I haven’t used pearl onions much before, but you can bet they’ll be a regular now!
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Even that spice satchel in the oil is making me hungry! Looks great!
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Me too! And I just ate. 🙂
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I am sure that this is a recipe that I would enjoy…!! It looks delicious! Thanks for sharing.
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Absolutely! I hope you’re having a great weekend Eftychia!
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Sorry to hear that you have all been a bit under the weather, although it certainly hasn’t affected Mr N’s appetite. This would seem to be a great Fall dish and cooking it in a slow cooker would fill your kitchen with a great aroma. Yum! Feel better!
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Thanks John. I’m on the mend. Mr. N fought it off successfully. Poor little Miss A is still dealing with it – I guess that comes with not having had as many colds as the rest of us at her young little age. Doesn’t slow her down one bit though, that’s for sure! Wish I could say the same. Fortunately Mike and I are back up to par and cooking again! 🙂 And I don’t think anything could affect Mr. N’s appetite!
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Not feeling well and still you come up with this? wow, I’m always impressed with your adventurous spirit in the kitchen and seeking out all these wonderful recipes. I do love plantain, its served with alot of Cuban dishes and I like to grill it for a burger topping!!
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Oooh – Cuban dishes. We need to go there soon too! Well, when we made this I was still feeling pretty good. It really hit me the next day, and I didn’t make anything but tea. 😉
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Whoa. Kristy. You’re blowing my hair back with your artistry in the last few photos :). This meal is so gorgeous looking. It reminds me of a Roots commercial – with its earthy brown tones and rugged texture – I just love it. The soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar combination is such a winner, isn’t it? Our family had the Japanese equivalent of this meal last night – Shoyu (meaning soy sauce) Chicken – featured on With A Glass. But I love all of the additions here – including the plantains, cashews and shiitake… delightful. I think I may have to do this tonight, though hockey is threatening to unravel that plan – sometime over the weekend for sure.
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Now hockey sounds worth missing a good meal. 🙂 I hope it was a successful game. And now I know I’ll have to try the Shoyu Chicken!
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This looks really flavorful and delicious – I think it’s so wonderful that you take the time and efffort to teach your kids about great food – and what a wonderful bonding experience!
Mary x
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It has definitely been a great bonding experience and they surprise me with how much they learn. It pops up at random times, when we least expect it. 🙂
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Whst is Chinese sausage, Kristy? I must say that this dish us more to my taste than the adobo! Ive not heard of plantains in a savory dish either! Very interesting.
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You know I’m not sure what Chinese sausage is, we didn’t use any; although I saw it in Raymund’s recipe. I’ll have to explore my meat section a little more next time and see if I can find it. And I’m with you – this is much more to my taste than the adobo (although that was good). Still, I’d pick this one. 🙂
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The chinese sausage I’m most familiar with is the fatty, kind of smoked, sweet pork one that’s found inside sticky rice bundles. I looked it up and it’s called lap chang or lap cheung or lap cheong. There’s a large Chinese community in town where I live so there are many places so buy it, fresh or frozen in chinese grocery stores but I’ve only bought it once that I can remember.
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Thanks! I bet one of the stores around here has it. 🙂
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This… looks… awesome! For realz. I love the use of plantains too – I always want to do something fun with those but never know what. The whole thing looks amazing on the plate at the end… beautiful caramelised colours, warm, well arranged. Great stuff Kristy, really nice. This is one that I’ll definitely be trying myself soon!
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Thank you Charles! Well, I’m still planning to make your best ever bread this week. For realz. 🙂 I didn’t get to it this weekend though. Stickin’ colds! I tell you if I could just get a smidge of the energy the kids still have when they have colds, I would be grateful. As for me, I just need to sleep. And you’ll have to let me know what you find to do with plantains. I’d like to try something with them too. They are such an interesting little fruit. Totally not what I was expecting.
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What a lovely hearty meal Kristy.
Hope you are all feeling better soon.
Have a happy weekend.
🙂 Mandy
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Thanks Mandy! All better now. 🙂
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Lol.. Mr. N was ready to eat all the Pork Estofado he could get lol. But I don’t blame him because it looks absolutely delicious. I just love a good piece of meat that falls right off the bone. And I’m also shocked Miss A liked it. But again.. this looks amazing. I’m still looking at the photos trying to figure out how I can add to this dish.. I love it. I might have to make this for our mother/daughter night
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Wow! This looks really good.
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Thank you! It was definitely a delicious meal – and one unlike any other we’ve had. 🙂
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