The Classic Way of Cooking Humba – Pork

Humba Recipe
Humba is a recipe that is common to all Filipinos. This Filipino Recipe is one of the classic dishes
that Filipinos love. There is no Filipino that hasn’t had a taste of this delicious and mouth-watering
dish.  Humba is one of my favourite Filipino Food. It is served in most meals, carenderia, restaurants
and other Pinoy establishments that cater Pinoy Foods.
Humba has a long history behind it therefore a lot of variations on how to cook Humba has
emerged. Others used different ingredients and techniques depending on what is available in their
area specially those who are living abroad because some ingredients are not readily available in their
market. So they ought to use other ingredients and give some twists depending on their preferences.
Others put some kick in it by adding chilies and other spicies.
In this page, I will show you the classic way my family cook humba. This was taught to me by my
parents and has practised it a lot until I get the right sweet taste and tenderness Humba should have.
Here are the ingredients needed for cooking Humba.

Humba Recipe
Humba Ingredients:
 1 kilo pork belly
 1/3 cup vinegar
 1/4 cup soy sauce
 3 tbps oyster sauce
 salt and ground black pepper
 4 tbps brown sugar, I prefer to use the raw sugar or kamay in bisaya
 3 bay leaves
 3 cups oil
 1/3 cup salted black beans
 2 large red onions, sliced
 12 cloves garlic, pounded
 dried rosemary
 1 – 2 cups water

Humba Cooking Procedures:

Heat the oil in a cooking pot. When the oil is hot, deep fry the pork belly. Make sure to clean the meat
first before cooking it. Add 6 cloves of pounded garlic. Fry the belly until its turns to brown, make
sure not burn the belly. When the belly is done, set it aside and prepare another pot to continue
cooking humba.
Heat up the pot and add 2-3 tbps of oil and sauté the garlic and onions. Add the meat and season it
with salt and ground black pepper and dried rosemary. Stir it a bit and then add the soy sauce and
the oyster sauce. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 5 minutes then add the salted black
beans.  After 3 minutes – 4 minutes, add the vinegar. Do not stir when adding the vinegar. Just cover
it up and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. You can then now add the sugar and bay leaves. Let it
simmer until the sugar starts to caramelized then add up some a cup of water.
Let humba simmer for an hour or maybe one and half hour until the pork belly is tender. Check it
regularly to make sure that it won’t dry up. Add another cup of water if it does. After an hour, check
the belly if it is tender enough that you could easily slice off the skin or fat.
Humba is best serve hot with steamed rice. Humba has a long shelf life; therefore you can cook a lot
of it and not worry if you can’t finish it all up. You can just store it in a refrigerator and just heat it up
if you want to eat. Enjoy.
 Learn to Cook Bicol Express
Bicol express is a well-known spicy Filipino recipe for pork.  It is one of the best Filipino recipes
which has its origin from Bicol.  In the history this dish is named after the passenger train service.
But some of the people said that it is called Bicol express because in Bicol, one of the Philippine
region, there are lots of coconuts and chilies. This dish is stewed and mixed with lots of long chilies
or in Tagalog it is called “siling mahaba”; it also mixed by coconut milk or in Tagalog it is called
“gata” and a shrimp paste “bagoong”.  I would teach you the method of cooking “Bicol Express”.  But
before that these are the lists of ingredients needed.

Bicol Express Recipe
Ingredients:
 1/4 kilo of pork, thinly sliced or diced (small)
 1/2 cup Shrimp Paste (bagoong)
 6-10 finger chilies sliced julienned
 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
 6 cloves garlic, crushed
 3 tablespoons ginger peeled and  minced
 3 cups coconut milk
 salt and pepper, to add taste
 2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Bicol Express Method of Cooking

Get a pan and heat the cooking oil in a medium heat. After that, Sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger in
the oil until it get the aroma. Then add the pork, make sure to wash it first and then continue cooking
for 5 to 7 minutes or until it becomes light brown.  When the pork turns it color add the shrimp paste
and sliced chilies. Stir.  After mixing the chilies you may pour the coconut milk and wait until it boils.
Simmer for about 40 minutes until the pork is tender.  Put some ground black pepper and salt to add
taste.  After a minute it’s ready to serve.  Its best serve when hot and shared with your family.
Filipino Pork BBQ 
Posted by Robert Colinares on January 25th, 2011 | 853,648 views
After getting a few requests, here it is, the Filipino Pork BBQ. This appetizer food or Pulutan is very popular
in the Philippines. You will find this at just about every entrance in the middle class subdivisions and
especially on the market sidewalks. A favorite among most Filipinos.

Filipino’s eat this BBQ as an appetizer, meal, a snack, or what most of the guy’s favorite, Pulutan. This
particular recipe has been a tradition for Filipino’s when it comes to street barbecuing. Aside from the requests,
it also inspired me to post this recipe to give our craving kakabayan’s that have been away from the Philippines
a little trip down memory lane where street food is just a couple of steps away.

This is fairly simple to make, but it does take a little bit of time to marinate. Just remember, the longer you let
it marinate the better the taste. So be patient when it comes to preparing these mouth-watering street delights.
Now, on to what you’re waiting for, the recipe.

Ingredients:
 2 Lbs. of Pork butt or belly (if using pork belly remove the skin)
 1 Cup of soy sauce
 1 Whole garlic peeled & smashed
 1 Small onion minced
 2 Lemons
 ½ Cup of 7UP
 1 Tsp. Ground black pepper
 5 Tbs. Dark brown sugar
 1 Cup of Banana sauce (ketchup)
 1 Tsp. MSG (optional)
Directions:
Soak bamboo skewers in water overnight to avoid splitting and burning before using.

Ayan may Pulutan na kayo! Nasaan ang tagay ko?

Tips:
Baste the pork with the remaining marinade to further enhance the flavor while barbecuing. Basting the meat
will also help to keep it moist through the entire cooking process. Make sure you allow the marinade to cook
when using it for basting, remember this is a left over marinade.

Translations:
Pulutan = Finger foods
Kababayan = Fellow citizens
Ayan may Pulutan na kayo! Nasaan ang tagay ko? = Here it is! You have you’re finger food! Now wheres my
drink (shot)?