Humba is a Filipino dish made with melt-in-your-mouth braised pork in savory, sweet and, sour sauce, bay leaves, whole peppercorns, banana blossoms, and salted beans.
Pork Humba hailed from the Visayan Islands, Philippines. This popular must-try regional dish is believed to be an adaptation of Pork Hong-ba or Red Braised Pork Belly that was brought to the islands by Chinese Immigrants.
The recipe evolved by replacing some of the ingredients with locally available spices such as salted beans or tausi and star anise in place of the Chinese five-spice. Since the latter is now available locally, I typically use it in creating Humba (but I forgot I had some that day). Hence I'm noting it as an optional spice in the dish if you have five-spice powder available in your cupboard.
The five-spice mixture is a blend of finely ground cloves, fennel, star anise, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns. You can try making your own. Here's a helpful DIY recipe.
I'm going to re-create this dish using Tofu instead. In case you don't like tofu, you could also experiment with any plant-based meat alternative and incorporate them with the sauce. I've tried using meat magic but it ended up absorbing the sauce. It was a trial and error at first but this version eventually ended up becoming a habitual recipe that we enjoy at home.
My family and I are not a fan of salted beans for several reasons. Firstly, I find them too salty. Secondly, following the first reason, we're carefully monitoring our blood pressure (Haha, mid-life problems), and biting into them is a sensation I don't enjoy, so I've omitted it in the dish I made.
Lastly, another valid reason was I ran out of stock. I was feeling lazy to drive to the center of town just for that particular ingredient. Hence I'm tagging it as optional in my version but if you want to get close to it as being an authentic Humba, feel free to put in tausi.
You'll also notice that I love using pineapples in many of my dishes such as Sweet & Sour Tofu because I find the layer of sour and sweetness of pineapples an interesting flavor to add. It creates a playful taste to the tongue.
I get really messy during the food prep given our über-tiny kitchen but let's begin. Keep calm and let's cook!
Directions:
Add vegetable oil to the pan. Fry the tofu cubes until they're all golden on all sides. Once they're done, set them aside and allow the kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil.
Fry the potato cubes in the same pan or wok and season them with salt and pepper. Once they're cooked, set them aside in a similar manner as the tofu.
In a pot, add the oil and saute the minced garlic on medium heat. Once it turns slightly golden, add the onions.
Saute the onions along with 2 bay leaves. Allow it to be aromatic and let it cook until onions are soft.
Pour the sugar cane vinegar, soy sauce, pineapple juice. Add the whole peppercorn. I prefer freshly ground black pepper to avoid biting into them. It's up to you which one suits your palate. Add the star anise, banana blossoms, sugar, and pineapple chunks. Season with salt as needed.
Once the sauce boils, smile and throw in the fried tofu and potatoes. Lower the fire and let it simmer for ten minutes.
Serve it on top of rice et voila!
In case you're trying to avoid rice, here's an idea, try it with a Japanese cucumber salad. Cucumber cut into small cubes drizzled with Kewpie Sesame Dressing (vegetarian), or you can create your own plant-based sesame dressing version.
Although the texture of tofu will never be comparable to the authentic braised pork version, Humba pops up regularly on our family's weekly menu.
Check Out Previous Tofu Recipes:
Vegan Green Curry with Chayote
Sweet and Sour Tofu Vegan Recipe
Will Humba be a dish you'd like to try?
Thank you for reading and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
Cover photo made with Canva but the rest of the images and layout are personally designed
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More tofu recipes please!!!
I will give this Tofu Humba a try soon. You have given us lots of recipes already and I want to recreate it soon! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Klause, with pleasure! Thank you for your feedback. I'll share more recipes with tofu again soon.
Yeeey. Exciting!
special occasions call for humba in the household. We always have it as my father loves cooking, he adds ripe banana saba in his recipe which I love. I would always go for the banana first when getting my share...
are you vegan sis?
Hello @junebride, ooh adding saba or plantains is a great idea! I'll try to incorporate that next time. I'm a flexitarian. Eating more plant-based dishes at home but when invited outside, I'm flexible. Still transitioning, but I'd love to be completely vegetarian and perhaps later vegan😊
i see.. i used to be a pescetarian and sorry to say that my colleague's mother's humba tempted me to try it at the office and it was the end of my pescetarian journey.
That's okay. I had my 7-year vegetarian practice changed by a Whopper. I guess as long as we're mindful of what we eat, all is well.
Japanese cucumber is a great idea to complete the plate :)
For tofu, my fav recipe is milk coconut milk, or peanut sauce.
I often have a stock of locally produced cucumbers in the fridge. I love eating them every day 😁
Ooh yes, Tofu is amazing with coconut milk. I tried tofu in red curry with peanut sauce and it's delicious! Cool suggestions I will try it with satay next time 😀
Satay would delicious! yummy
It makes me hungry now just thinking about it 😄
so this has a sweet tangy flavour? it looks really good
Good morning Pauline @livinguktaiwan yes exactly, the taste is sweet and tangy. In Cebu, it is slow-cooked so that the sauce is reduced until it becomes thick.
That looks super good.
I know what you mean about the salt. I have been noticing that my salt tolerance has gone way down in just the past few years. I find it hard to sleep if I eat too much salt because I can't breath well hahaha I think that's a blood pressure thing? 🤔
Anyway, Humba sounds really good. Traditional, quintessential dishes from a region are usually the most delicious and comforting
Hi @leaky20, thank you. I'm not a doctor but yes that sounds like an elevated blood pressure symptom? Have you checked your BP level recently? We ordered a handy blood pressure monitor online since it's incredibly useful. Salt triggers this. My husband and I check from time to time. It was a 2021 resolution of mine to finally visit the doctor and do a full lab work up this year. This really helped tame down worries and receive health advice/ guidance in planning lifestyle adjustments early, to avoid taking medications later.
Humba is a dish that I discovered when we moved to Cebu. It's not a common home-cooked cuisine from the region where I grew up.
I yeah I should probably go to the doctor just for a regular check up. I haven't done that in a while. The at home BP device sounds handy, maybe I'll look I to that as well at some point. The things we do as we get older lol.
Sounds like a good adoption though.
Haha, seeing 2022 approaching is a great reminder of getting older lol
Your diet is so healthy, you seem to like the food made from tofu.
Good morning @kimloan, I try to be. Tofu is one of those ingredients (whenever available) that provides a seemingly natural taste and balance without creating too much gas and bloating. Thank you for your message and wishing you a lovely Sunday!
A VERY delicious and appetizing recipe, I loved it!
Hi @kristal24, thank you and I'm glad to hear that. Wishing you a bountiful foodie weekend!
Yummy. I am surely gonna recreate this dish at home. I would love to have this dish with rice. You totally made my mouth watered. Thanks for sharing your recipe, looking forward to see more from you.
Have a great day :D
Good morning Sahiba! @sahiba-rana Thank you, it's so nice to hear you're going to recreate this dish, such happiness it brings. Wishing you a heartwarming weekend too!
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Delicious. Thanks for share.
Hi @andresdfc, thanks for your comment, glad you like it.