Adobong sitaw is a Filipino adobo made with yardlong beans cooked in garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar. It's savory, slightly tangy, and perfect with rice.
This easy vegetable adobo comes together in about 30 minutes and can be made on its own or with pork or shrimp.
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What is Adobong Sitaw?
Adobong sitaw (also known as string beans adobo) is a Filipino adobo made with yardlong beans cooked in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic. You can serve it as a main dish or as a side with rice.
The beans soak up the adobo sauce, so you still get that familiar savory and slightly tangy flavor-just without the meat. It's simple to make and a nice change from pork or chicken adobo.
Ingredients You'll Need
Notes and Substitutions
- Sitaw: Also called yardlong beans or Filipino long beans. They're long, crisp, and soak up adobo sauce well. If you can't find sitaw, green beans or string beans work too.
- Pork: I used pork belly for extra flavor, but you can swap in shrimp, tofu, chicken, or ground meat. You can also leave out the meat completely to keep it vegetarian or vegan.
- Vinegar: Cane or coconut vinegar works best, but white vinegar, rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar are fine too.
- Soy sauce: Regular soy sauce works well. You can use low-sodium if you prefer-just taste as you cook since salt levels vary by brand.
How to Make Adobong Sitaw
Step 1: Prepare the sauce
In a bowl, combine:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup of water
Mix and set aside.
Step 2: Prepare the sitaw
Trim off the ends, then cut the sitaw into about 2-inch pieces. Give them a quick rinse to remove any dirt, then set aside.
Step 3: Blanch the sitaw
Bring a pot of water to a boil. If you'd like, add a pinch of baking soda-it helps keep the sitaw bright green. Add the beans and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until tender but still crisp.
Scoop them out and transfer right away to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain well.
Step 4: Brown the pork
Heat a wok or large pan over medium-high heat. Add 8 ounces of sliced pork belly and ½ cup water. Let it cook until the water evaporates.
Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking. The pork will release its own fat-let it cook in that fat until browned and lightly crispy.
Once done, push the pork to one side of the pan.
Step 5: Sauté the aromatics
Over medium heat, sauté the garlic and onions until they're nice and soft.
Step 6: Add the sitaw and chili peppers
Add the blanched sitaw and chili peppers, if using. Toss everything together and cook for 1-2 minutes, just until the sitaw is heated through.
Step 7: Add the sauce
Pour in the adobo sauce and toss everything together. Let it cook until the sauce thickens slightly.
Season with black pepper to taste, then turn off the heat and transfer to a serving bowl.
Top with fried garlic or shallots, as desired. Serve and enjoy your adobong sitaw with steamed white rice or sinangag for a complete meal.
Storage
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Reheat in a pan over medium heat. Add a small amount of water if the sauce looks dry.
Cooking Tips
- Don't overcook the sitaw-it should stay tender but still have a little bite.
- Taste before adding more soy sauce. Brands vary, and it's easy to make this too salty.
- If adding meat, brown it first before adding the beans for better flavor.
Recipe FAQs
Sitaw are yardlong beans commonly used in Filipino cooking. They are long, thin, and slightly crisp, and they soak up adobo sauce well.
Yes. If you can't find sitaw, regular green beans or string beans work well. The texture is similar, though sitaw are longer and slightly more tender.
It can be. Just skip the pork or shrimp and use the adobo sauce with the beans alone.
Blanching helps keep the beans bright green and prevents them from overcooking later in the sauce.
Filipino Dishes with Sitaw
- Ginataang kalabasa: Squash and yardlong beans cooked in coconut milk.
- Pinakbet: Braised vegetables with okra, eggplant, bitter melon, squash, and yardlong beans, sautéed with shrimp paste and a mix of proteins.
- Sinigang: A sour soup made with pork, shrimp, or fish, flavored with a souring agent like tamarind or calamansi.
- Bicol express: A spicy pork stew with bite-size pieces of pork cooked in coconut milk, shrimp paste, and chilies.
- Ginisang sitaw: Sautéed yardlong beans with aromatics.
Other Vegetable Recipes You May Like
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📖 Recipe
Adobong Sitaw (Filipino Yardlong bean Adobo Recipe)
Equipment
- Small pot (for blanching)
- Wok or large pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound sitaw (yardlong beans) cut into 2-inch sections; see note
- 8 ounces pork belly or shoulder thinly sliced; see note
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons vinegar see note
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ onion finely chopped
- 1-2 chili peppers sliced; optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Neutral oil
- Fried garlic or shallots optional garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, and ¼ cup water. Set aside.
- Trim the sitaw ends and cut into 2-inch pieces. Blanch for 2-3 minutes, then drain.
- Cook pork with water until liquid evaporates, then let it brown in its own fat. Push to one side of the pan.
- Add oil if needed, then sauté garlic until fragrant.
- Add the sitaw (and chilies, if using). Cook 1-2 minutes until heated through.
- Pour in the prepared sauce. Toss everything together and simmer until sauce slightly thickens. Season with black pepper, then turn off heat. Top with fried garlic or shallots, if you like.
Notes
- Tofu: Use firm or extra-firm so it holds its shape and soaks up the sauce.
- Mushrooms: Use hearty mushrooms (shiitake, king oyster, cremini, or portobello) so they don't fall apart.
- Soy sauce: Regular works best. Low-sodium is fine-just taste before adding more.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Reheat in a pan with a splash of water if needed.
- Don't overcook the sitaw-it should stay tender with a little bite.
- Brown the pork first for better flavor.
- Taste before adding more soy sauce-it's easy to make this too salty.
Jean says
Yum!!
Nora Reyes says
Thank you, Jean!