1 1/2 - 2lbspork shoulder or pork butt roast, large pieces of fat and any bone removed *see Note 1
6-8clovesgarlic, lightly smashed
4bay leaves
Coarsely ground black pepper , or smashed whole peppercorns
1/3Cuplow-sodium soy sauce
1/3cupdistilled white or unfiltered cider vinegar, *see Note 2
1cupwater
1Tbspbrown sugar, optional, stirred in at end
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Instructions
Prepare the pork by removing and discarding any large pieces of fat and any bone, then cut the pork into 1 1/2-2” inch pieces. Do not salt the meat!
Place pork cubes into a heavy-bottom pan/skillet (that has a lid). Add the garlic, bay leaves, pepper, soy sauce, vinegar and water. Do not stir. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, COVER and let gently simmer for 45 minutes.
Remove lid and stir. Cook UNCOVERED, for 30-45 minutes, or until most of the liquid has cooked off. Take out and discard the bay leaves. If using, stir in the brown sugar at the end of cooking.
You can leave the pork in chunks (they will be fork-tender by this point), or break them up/shred. If mixture gets too dry, simply add a splash of water to the pot and stir/warm to loosen.
Enjoy garnished with chopped fresh tomato and onion (equal parts of each) and served with rice, Filipino Garlic Fried rice or use like pulled pork on a toasted bun, with fresh tomato and onion and perhaps with some garlic aioli.
Notes
I prefer to use pork shoulder, but pork butt will also work.
My preference is natural unfiltered cider vinegar (Bragg's), but. you can use either.