Humba

My husband kept asking me to recreate a Visayan dish called "humba" he first had in Cebu. He never forgot the taste and has been constantly asking me to make it for him whenever his craving sets in. Honestly, I have never done it before. I remember my Mom and my Kuya used to make this at home. So today, I am in a great mood for cooking. Humba for lunch is in order. It was a winner according to the husband. I sure hope it wasn't just meant to please me. But hey, he had two cups of rice and a can of Dr. Pepper soda. Happy belly, I guess? haha!

So I'd like to share the recipe with you all. This is a Visayan version of the Tagalog's adobo, only that it's on the sweeter side and the addition of dried banana blossoms and salted black beans makes all the difference.

Ingredients:

• 1 Kilo Pork with lean fat (used pork kasim cut into adobo pieces from Monterey)
• 2 Tbsps Olive oil (used to brown the pork)
• 5 Cloves Garlic, minced ( I put a lot of garlic to cut the cholesterol)
• 1 Large Onion, diced
• 3 Pcs. Dried Bay leaves
• 1 Teaspon Whole Peppercorn
• 1 Cup Pineapple juice (I used the juice concentrate from a can of pineapple chunks)
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce 
• 2 Tablespoons vinegar
• Water

I tweaked the recipe a little bit by adding a sweet sauce later part of the cooking, here's the rest of the ingredients:

• 1 Can of Lemon-Lime soda (I used diet 7Up)
• 1 Can Pineapple Juice (I used Dole in can 12 Fl Oz)
• 1 Teaspoon yellow mustard (I used French's or any table mustard will do)
• 2 Tbsps Soy Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

Note: Make the sweet sauce ahead of time. Make sure to simmer it down to thicken the sauce a little bit. Added half a teaspoon of cornstarch diluted in 2 teaspoons of water. This is a good basting sauce for leftover hams. 

Cooking Procedure:

1. Heat the cooking pot with 2 teaspoons of Olive oil. Brown the pork on all sides in batches. Transfer in any glass dish to drain the fat a little bit while waiting for the rest to cook.
2. On the same pot, saute the garlic and onion until soft and fragrant. 
3. Put-in the cooked pork, bay leaves, soy sauce, peppercorn and pineapple juice. Let boil and simmer until pork is tender. 
4. Pour-in about 3/4 cup of the sweet sauce and about 1/4 cup of water. Simmer a bit more.
5. Check the consistency of the sauce. Make sure it is not too thick. Add in more water and soy sauce if you need to according to your taste.
6. Add the vinegar but DO NOT stir. Cover and re-simmer for about 5 minutes.
7. Spoon-in the salted black beans and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
8. Add the dried banana blossoms and simmer for another 5 minutes.
9. Transfer on a serving plate, share and enjoy!

Additional note: If you do not want to make the sweet sauce, you can just add the soda, pineapple juice, yellow mustard all together while simmering the pork. Just make sure to adjust the proportions and always taste your sauce. Add the brown sugar at the end when you are about to put in the black beans. Experiment on your own and use my recipe as your guide. Have fun cooking!