Foreigners, mostly Americans who have Filipino friends or married to a Filipino, love our Adobo. In my last US visit, a black taxi driver who was taking me to the Houston airport told me how he loved eating adobo with his Filipino friends. At first, he couldn't remember what it was called so I asked him to describe it. He had only so far mentioned soy sauce and meat when I blurted out "Adobo!", and he said "Yeah, that's the one!" and I think he kinda licked his lips at the memory of the last savory adobo dish he had.
I also spotted in a food court in one of the hotels in Las Vegas a Mexican food stand offering Chicken Adobo. I already bought my greasy, tasteless, starchy Chinese meal then so I passed on the Mexican Chicken Adobo; something I regret till now because I haven't stopped wondering how different or similar could it be from ours.
I was watching a reality TV last night called "The Family Restaurant" when the matriarch named Amy, a Chinese woman who is so jovial and friendly, declared she wants to offer Adobo in her "Amy's Chicken" food stand. She and her family are based in Canada where they operate a restaurant called Lingnam.
I loved Adobo even as a kid. I've eaten it so many times that when I had to cook one for the first time, I didn't need a recipe. It also helps that my family turned me into a sous chef (a fancy name for kitchen runner and helper) so I grew familiar with what ingredients are needed for Adobo.
On the off chance that there's still a grown-up Pinoy who doesn't know how to cook Adobo, let me share here my basic recipe for this timeless Pinoy dish.
CHICKEN PORK ADOBO (serves four)
* half a kilo of chicken thighs (cut in serving size)
* half a kilo of pork cubes with some fat
* 8 cloves of garlic (the more, the better)
* 1 big red onion
* half a cup of good soy sauce
* 5 tbsps of good vinegar
* 2 bay leaves
* peppercorns
* 3 teaspoons of sugar
* 2 tbsps of cooking oil
* 4 boiled eggs
TO COOK:
* In a tbsp. of cooking oil briefly fry the chicken and pork cubes just to brown them a bit. Set aside.
* Saute the chopped garlic and onion using another tbsp of cooking oil before adding all meat back in the pan.
* Pour the soy sauce and vinegar and let it boil.
* When it's boiling, add the bay leaf, peppercorns and sugar.
* Set the stove to medium heat and let the dish to cook until the pork and chicken are tender.
* Serve with boiled eggs on top.
**The quantity of soy sauce and vinegar, as well as the onion and garlic, peppercorn and sugar can be adjusted to suit individual tastes and preferences. I, for one, hate being constricted to super strict measurements when it comes to cooking...
When I was a young girl I would watch my mother cook Adobo and she would often caution me from stirring the pot after she had poured the vinegar in. She said the vinegar wouldn't cook properly if it's disturbed before it boils. But the ever impatient me couldn't resist stirring the pot when I cook Adobo now because I want to constantly taste the sauce to be sure the flavor is okay.
One time my sister made her version of Adobo using just salt instead of soy sauce. She called it "Adobong Puti" because the finished product naturally didn't produce the dark color from soy sauce. It also didn't produce the kind of Adobo taste I know, but I must say her Adobong Puti was not bad at all.
Then my other sister decided to really push the Adobo envelope after seeing a cooking show on TV that used catsup (!) to cook Adobo. It was bad, please don't try it at home.
As I said there are supposed to be many versions of Pinoy Adobo. Some add coconut milk. But this basic recipe I shared here already satisfies me and the people I serve it to, whose only usual complaint is that it makes them eat more rice.
Oh, I'm sure many Filipinos also know that leftover Adobo tastes even better, especially when the sauce has turned into gel. A true gastronomic dish that made Filipino Chicken & Pork Adobo a true classic.
