Pork Adobo

Cut the pork belly into 4 cm cubes, lightly crush the garlic cloves and crack the peppercorns. Put the pork, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and 200 ml of the water in a heavy pan. Marinating first is optional; the braise does the work.

Bring to the boil and let it bubble uncovered for 5 minutes without stirring. Stirring vinegar before it has boiled off its edge leaves a raw, harsh taste.

Cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes, until a fork goes into the pork with no resistance.

While the pork simmers, rinse the rice in a sieve under the cold tap until it runs clear. Put it in a pan with the remaining 450 ml of water, bring to the boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes. Leave it covered off the heat for 10 minutes.

Lift the pork out. Add the brown sugar and boil the liquid hard until it reduces to a glossy few spoonfuls.

Return the pork and turn it in the glaze over medium heat until the fat catches and browns at the edges.

Serve the pork with the rice and spoon the glaze over.