ChefSteps is a team of chefs, writers, and food lovers who develop recipes, techniques, and guides to help people cook better at home.

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What do duck confit, <a href="/activities/flavor-packed-homemade-corned-beef-with-nine-day-brine">corned beef</a>, and <a href="/recipes/sous-vide-pastrami">pastrami</a> have in common? Sure, they’re all tasty, but all of these beloved traditional dishes also began as ways to preserve food. Before people could just stick a roast in the freezer or pop over to the grocery store to pick up a piece of chicken, they had to find ways of making food last. In the Philippines, preservation-minded cooks turned to vinegar, a delicious marinade base that’s also hostile to spoilage-causing bacteria. Thus adobo—a dish of meat stewed in vinegar—was born.Today, cooking adobo is practically a Filipino national pastime. In addition to vinegar, the marinade usually involves soy sauce, garlic, and spices, though recipes vary from island to island, household to household. Adobo is often made with chicken, but we like to sub in pork belly to add decadence, and we use Joule to transform the meat into tender, piggy goodness. The result? Succulent, tender pork belly to fill your loved ones’ bellies year-round.