Pork Tinola is a delicious Filipino soup dish. Cubed pork butt or pork belly are cooked and tenderized in a stock composed of ginger, beef broth, and rice washing. This is best eaten with steamed white rice and dipped in fish sauce with crushed chili pepper.
Aside from pork, Tinola can also be made with any kind of meat such as chicken. In fact, chicken tinola is the most common and popular tinola version. If you love seafood fish tinola is also a good idea.
I enjoy eating tinola during rainy or cold days. It makes me feel warm and relaxed.
As I’ve mentioned, some of the vegetables that I used are alternatives to the original vegetable ingredients. For example, spinach is the best substitute for malunggay leaves and hot pepper leaves, while chayote can be used as a replacement for green papaya. This should let us realize that we can always prepare our favorite Filipino dishes wherever we are in the world.
Try this Pork Tinola recipe. Let me know what you think.
Pork Tinola Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork butt cubed
- 1 bunch fresh spinach cleaned
- 2 medium chayote wedged
- 2 thumbs ginger julienned
- 1 medium yellow onion sliced
- 5 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 32 oz. beef broth
- 4 cups rice washing
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a deep cooking pot.
- When the oil is hot, saute the garlic, ginger, and onion. Cook until the onion is soft.
- Put-in the pork and then cook for 5 minutes or until it browns.
- Add-in the ground black pepper. Stir.
- Pour-in the beef broth. Let boil.
- Pour 1 cup of rice washing. Allow the liquid to reboil. Cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until the pork becomes tender. Add the remaining rice washing once the pork is tender. Allow to re-boil.
- Add the chayote wedges. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour the fish sauce and stir.
- Add the spinach. Cover the cooking pot and then turn the heat-off. Let the residual heat cook the spinach.
- Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with white rice.
- Share and enjoy!
Vanjo Merano says
Thanks for the comment Noe. If you are concerned about it, then I suggest to just use water instead of rice washing.
Marc says
For step #6, do you add the remaining 3 cups of rice washing after the soup returns to a boil? I watched the video but don’t speak Tagalog, however I think that’s probably what you said. This sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try your recipe out!!
Vanjo Merano says
Hi Marc. You will add the remaining rice washing once the pork is tender. I updated step 6 to capture this step.
Robb says
Thanks for all the great recipes. On this recipe under Cooking Procedure, you say add one cup of rice washing, where do I add the other three cups?
Vanjo Merano says
Hi Robb, it should be added after the pork is tender. Step 6 has been updated to reflect the procedure.
Ann says
Panlasang Pinoy,you’re so great..I know how to cook and wanting more to cokk alot of recipes which i do not know yet 🙂 Am loving it..Sinubukan ko lutuin to and yes i did it!
ail says
Can I use papaya instead of chayote?
Vanjo Merano says
Yes,you can.
Vanjo Merano says
Sure May, you can use beef instead of pork,but add more time to simmer the beef to ensure that the meat will be tender.
Donna says
Hi, thanks for the recipe. bakit po yung sa kin, nung nilagay ko yung pork, after ng onion, nagtubig sya? as in maraming tubig. should i wait for the water to completely evaporate? may mali po ba kong ginagawa?
thanks for your reply.
regards,
Donna
Vanjo Merano says
This has something to do with the quality of the meat that you are using. It can happen, but it is not common.
Wait for it to evaporate and cook the pork till light brown before proceeding to the next step.