PORK-Humba

                                                                        HUMBA

Humba is a sweet pork dish that resembles the famous pork adobo in terms of appearance. This is popular in the southern parts of the Philippines and is considered as one of the delicacies of the region. Pork belly, pork hocks, and pork ham are the 3 most common pig parts used to make this delightful masterpiece.

This dish uses all the ingredients of pork adobo; however, certain ingredients such as brown sugar, salted black beans, and banana blossoms make this dish stand out. There are also other variations wherein pineapple juice is used (I learned this from my friends that came from Cebu, Davao, and Gensan) – this gives more life to the dish as far as I’m concerned.

The Chinese Hong-ba, one of my favorite dishes, would probably be the closest to this dish in terms of flavor and preparation. This is usually eaten with cua pao, steamed dough with a texture similar to siopao. We’ll try to feature Hong-ba soon.

How do you cook your Humba? Do you have some tips to share?

Try this Humba Recipe

Ingredients:
2 lbs pork belly
1 cup Pineapple juice
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons salted black beans
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup dried banana blossoms
2 pieces dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole peppercorn

Watch the cooking video:

Cooking Procedure:
1. Heat the cooking pot then brown the pork belly
2. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft
3. Put-in the soy sauce, peppercorn, bay leaves
4. Pour-in the pineapple juice and let boil. Simmer until the pork is tender (add water as needed)
5. Add the vinegar and wait for the mixture to re-boil. Simmer for 3 minutes
6. Spoon-in the salted black beans and brown sugar then simmer for 5 minutes
7. Add the dried banana blossoms and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes
8. Transfer to a serving plate and serve. Share and enjoy!