The Philippines' defining national dish. Chicken drumettes and pork belly braised together in coconut vinegar, soy sauce, smashed garlic, black peppercorns and bay leaves until the meat is glossy and the sauce reduced to a savoury lacquer. Pepper-crushed for warmth. Rice underneath, always.

Adobo is the cooking technique that defines Filipino home cooking. The name comes from the Spanish adobar (to marinate), but the dish itself predates colonisation, the pre-Hispanic Filipino practice of preserving meat in vinegar and salt. The Spanish brought the name; the Filipinos kept the method.

Coconut vinegar (suka ng paombong, made from coconut palm sap) is the soul of the dish. Its low acidity and slight sweetness give adobo its signature mellow tang; substituting white vinegar will throw the dish too sharp. If you can't find coconut vinegar, cane vinegar is the closest substitute.

The technique is patient. Brown the garlic and pork hard first to render the fat, add the chicken, then pour in the vinegar and soy and let it reduce slow over low heat until the sauce thickens to a sticky glaze. Don't stir; the vinegar needs to evaporate the alcohol first, which only happens if it boils undisturbed. Serve over short-grain rice; a fried egg on top is the final domestic touch.