A fusion of the classic Filipino adobo dish and fried rice makes this a delicious and hearty meal. It’s easy enough to prepare and perfect for any time of the day!

Table of Contents

What is Adobo?

Adobo is an umbrella term in Filipino cuisine that encompasses anything marinated and/or stewed in a mixture of vinegar, salt or soy sauce, and other spices/aromatics.

Adobo was derived from the Spanish word “adobar“, meaning to marinate. Marinating proteins in mixtures of vinegars and salts were a common practice to the Indigenous Filipinos long before Spanish colonization, but the name stuck after Spaniards noted of its cooking process.

Interestingly enough, the precolonial version of adobo only consisted of vinegar and salt, which served its purpose to preserve meat in a tropical climate. This is now modernly known as “adobong puti” or white adobo.

There’s a bunch of different variants of adobo in the Philippines, some of which we’ve already covered here on the website. Give them a try and let me know how it tastes!

Adobo Fried Rice

Adobo fried rice was never something we made voluntarily, it was only done to clean up the leftover sauce from the pot the adobo was made out of.

It made the rice so much tastier since the grains get to soak up all that adobo sauce while getting bits and pieces of those tiny caramelized bits of pork or chicken from the main batch.

Adobo fried rice with green onions and pork belly

Now my issue with was that in order to make this fried rice, you’d need to make a whole batch of adobo before hand. Even some recipes online will have one of the components as “leftover adobo” as a main ingredient. I mean, surely there had to be another way to bypass that extra step, right?

Anyways, this recipe consists of you making a small, almost concentrated form of adobo. It’s easier since you don’t need to simmer it as long as a traditional batch, and it makes for a damn good fried rice.

Adobo fried rice with pork belly and green onions

Ingredients

Rice: Any day-old rice can work for this recipe. Day-old rice is typically used for almost all fried rice recipes as they contain less moisture than a fresh batch, making it less likely to be soggy. If you only have fresh rice on hand, I’d recommend placing it in the fridge for a couple minutes to at least let it cool down prior to frying.

Protein: I ended up using pork belly for this recipe, since the rendered fat essentially acts as our frying oil for the rice. Feel free to substitute this with shredded chicken, tofu, beef, or omit the protein entirely if you prefer.

Soy sauce: One of the main components of any classic adobo. My favourite Filipino soy sauce brand is Marca Piña, though you can also use other popular Filipino brands such as Datu Puti or Silver Swan. Other more common soy sauces such as Kikkoman can also work.

Vinegar: Filipino vinegars such as cane or coconut vinegar works incredible with any adobo recipe. Standard white vinegar may also work, as well as Japanese rice vinegar.

Brown sugar: Sugar helps to add a perfect balance between the salty and tangy notes of the soy sauce and vinegar. Brown sugar is traditionally used, but you could use white sugar in a pinch.

Garlic, Bay leaves, black pepper: This is the classic trio in almost all Filipino recipes. Seriously, you’ll see this combination everywhere in Filipino cooking.

Instructions

Heat the pork belly over medium heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. Continue cooking slowly to render out the fats until the pork is lightly crisp and golden brown.

Add in the minced garlic, stir and saute in the rendered fat until golden and fragrant.

Add in the soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, black pepper, bay leaves, and water. Bring to a boil, then let simmer until the adobo liquid thickens and concentrates into a sauce, about 5-7 minutes.

Add in the rice. Stir until all the grains are evenly coated with the adobo sauce. Toss in the green onions and give the rice a final stir fry.

Serve warm and top with a fried egg and more green onions. Enjoy!

Adobo fried rice with fried egg and green onions

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Can I change the protein?

Yes, feel free to substitute the pork belly with any protein of choice, such as shredded chicken, beef, or even tofu! (You may even omit the protein if you’d prefer).

Can I add vegetables to this?

Yes, you can add any vegetable of your choice to this fried rice, fresh or frozen will both work just fine. I usually like throwing in one of those frozen packs of corn, peas, and carrots into the rice for conveniency.

How do I store leftovers?

Leftover adobo fried rice can keep in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days in an air-tight container. To reheat, simply microwave the fried rice or briefly re-fry in a wok or pan until warm.

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