Humba the way my lola makes it — soy, vinegar and a whole afternoon

Every family here has its own humba and everybody swears theirs is the correct one. This is the one I grew up with in Cebu: dark, a little sweet, sour enough underneath that you notice it, and cooked long enough that the fat gives up completely.

The only real rule is that you do not rush it. Two hours on a low fire is the recipe. Everything else is negotiable.

Photo: Obsidian Soul, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ingredients

• 1 kg pork belly, cut into big 2-inch cubes (leave the fat on)
• 1 whole head of garlic, cloves peeled and lightly crushed
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup vinegar (native or cane — do not stir it in the first few minutes)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, plus more at the end if you like it sweeter
• 2 tbsp fermented black beans (tausi), rinsed
• 1/2 cup dried banana blossoms, soaked in warm water until soft
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns
• 1 cup water or rice washing (hugas bigas)
• Optional: a handful of peanuts, or a hard-boiled egg per person

Tausi, in case the label in the store is no help. Photo: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Method

1. Put the pork, garlic, onion, soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns and bay leaves in a heavy pot. Toss it, then leave it to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Overnight in the fridge is better.
2. Bring it to a boil over medium heat and do not stir for the first five minutes. Letting the vinegar cook off first is what keeps the finished dish from tasting sharp.
3. Add the water, lower the heat until it is barely bubbling, cover, and leave it for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check it every 20 minutes or so and add a splash of water if it is getting tight.
4. When a fork goes through the pork with no resistance, stir in the sugar, tausi and banana blossoms. Simmer uncovered for another 20 minutes so the sauce reduces and turns glossy.
5. Taste. Too flat, add sugar. Too sweet, a teaspoon of vinegar fixes it. If you are adding peanuts or eggs, now is the time.
6. Rest it off the heat for 15 minutes before serving. It is better the next day, and better still the day after that.

What you are aiming for: the sauce thick enough to coat, the fat translucent. Photo: Obsidian Soul, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Notes

• Banana blossoms are the ingredient people skip and then wonder why theirs tastes like adobo. They are worth hunting down.
• If your sauce is thin, take the lid off and turn the heat up for the last few minutes rather than adding cornstarch.
• Serve with plain rice and something sour on the side. Nothing else.

Curious how other people here make theirs — pineapple, no pineapple, tausi or no tausi. Post yours.