ADOBO # 3 MY MAMAs ADOBO

Last but not the least, my mamas chicken adobo!
I haven’t seen my mom in the last six years and as I ponder on her cooking this simple chicken adobo recipe always tops the list.

Since my husbands yaya is the one cooking our everyday meals, chicken adobo is not one of her regular dishes so its always a treat if I get to eat it.

It’s the ratatouille effect. Every time I take a bite I go into trance and remember me in our tiny dining room, watching my mom experiment in the kitchen then she hands me a hot plate filled with this chicken and sauce that I pour over the hot rice and just eat away.

It was such a simple and happy memory which I wished I could go back to every now and then. But hey I was able to inherit her cooking skills and every time I get mama sick I can just whip up her food. Its not the same but it sure does make me happy. I miss you ma!!

In this recipe I added turmeric but her original recipe doesn’t have any!

ingredients:

1k chicken adobo cut

1tbsp peppercorn

1/4 c vinegar

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ c water

3-4 bay leaves

3 heads garlic chopped

1 c soy sauce

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp. turmeric

1-2 tbsp oil

procedure:

• in a bowl ,season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and marinate 1/4 of the soy sauce and garlic. marinate for at least 30 mins.
• in a pan over medium heat with 1 T oil, fry chicken pieces until golden brown.
• when pieces are brown pour water and soy sauce and the rest of the marinade and other ingredients into the pan and cover, bring to boil then simmer and lower the heat
  
• add the sugar slowly every 5-10 mins and stir. check on the chicken and add water if it reduces too much to avoid burning the sugar.
  
• when the sauce is syrupy and the chicken is tender, your adobo is ready to be served! Bon Appetit!
  

ADOBO WEEK

Adobo

Adobo? Who in the Phillipines don’t know what adobo is???

I have a confession to make….. although I know how to cook , bake and create a variety of dishes mostly influence by the foreign cuisine, my weakness is cooking my own Filipino Food. Yes im guilty but more embarrassed of the fact that I don’t even know how to cook our very own specialties.

So this week I want to start with making adobo.
3 kinds of adobo, in which I have learn to like and crave for at times, for different reasons and of course each one has its own story to tell.

A little history of adobo before I begin

Adobo is a dish usually prepared with pork or chicken and served with rice. In the Philippines adobo varies from nation to nation. There’s manila style adobo, cebu style adobo, ilo-ilo adobo and even varies from family to family. In Spanish ADOBO means sauce or seasoning or marinade used in Latin American and southwest U.S. style cooking. It is also a style of cooking used in Filipino cuisine. They all have the same name but come from different cultural roots. in Filipino cuisine, adobo refers to a common cooking process that is native to the Philippines. In the late 1500s when the Spanish took administration over the Philippines through Mexico City, they found a native style of cooking process that involved stewing the food in vinegar. The method was described and referred as “adobo”. Dishes prepared in this manner came to be known by this name as well.

Adobo #1 “the kinapusan ADOBO”

This version is inspired by my sister in-law, whom she learned from her sister from manila. She said this is how they cooked it in manila or somewhere in manila (correct me if I'm wrong please). Nevertheless it has been something my husband keeps on asking me to make and follow. It has this taste like we Cebuanos are familiar with the “kinapusan” in English it literally means deflate . To deflate the FAT….yummy!! cook until the fat is deflated. So can you picture how this dish will turn out??? Here it is.

Ingredients:
1k pork liempo / belly – cut into cubes
1tbsp peppercorn
1C vinegar
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ c water
3-4 bay leaves
3 heads garlic chopped

• In a pan, put the meat and the rest of the ingredients together except one head of garlic and cover. Bring to boil.
• Turn down the fire then continue to cook for an hour till the meat is tender. If the water evaporates before the hour is up, add some vinegar.
• After an hour, check and take the scum away , turn up the fire and let the pork cook until most of the liquid evaporates. Stir the meat from time to time to prevent it from sticking to the pan. (beware of the oil splashes, which I so so so hated when I was doing this, it practically splashed into the corner of my eye uuurgh! )
• Use the cover of the pan as a shield if ever the fats begin to pop and splash in your face.
• Continue to cook until the meat is frying in its own fat, yummo!!
• When the meat is all golden and the pork fat is 3 times smaller than it used to be then you are ready to serve up your sticky and yummy adobo with rice…..
• Oh after scooping your meat to a dish, fry the remaining garlic till golden and sprinkle it over the adobo!!! Yum yum yummo!!!! Enjoy….i know my husband did!!!

Day one down for the week long adobo marathon!!
Next stop YAYAS adobo!!