For me one of the essential food "quests" -- those back burner searches for some beloved/remembered food or recipe that never quite get satisfied -- is for adobo. For those who don't know, adobo is the national dish of the Philippines, in its simplest configuration just meat cooked with vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic (although for me, black pepper is also a fundamental ingredient). As a half-Filipino, I grew up eating the stuff, which was usually cooked by my mom, occasionally by my grandmother or an aunt. This culinary experience is probably the extent of my connection to Flip culture -- maybe that helps explains the dish's significance to me?
I've talked extensively with my mother about making adobo, which is obviously helpful (especially since the dish I'm trying to recreate is hers, or at least my memory of hers) but perhaps not as authoritative as you'd think. My mom is herself always changing her recipes, finding new ways to make adobo less fatty or less salty, depending on whatever health concern she has at the moment. Her adobo has definitely evolved, which means the recipes and suggestions I get now arent necessarily satisfying. I've also consulted other relatives, friends, numerous cookbooks, and the internet.
At any rate, I'm going to be posting three different recipes for adobo this week. Each recipe is different from the others and represents for me a completely different interpretation of adobo. I won't tell you which recipe I like best (that might be dispositive, for those cooking along at home) until I've posted all three, and even then the answer may not be clear.
Chicken adobo
The first recipe is for chicken adobo.
several chicken thighs and legs
6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
freshly ground black pepper
a bit of vegetable oil
Trim the fat if you like -- I find that this particular recipe can be very fatty. I personally would never remove thee skin, since I have such fond memories of eating adoboed chicken skin as a kid, but do as you need to do!
This recipe is basically a fricasee. Preheat your oven to 300F. In a large ovenproof pan or dutch oven, saute the garlic in the bit of oil (not too much, since thighs and legs are so fatty) and as it starts to turn golden add and saute the chicken. The goal is to brown it without burning it or the garlic -- this requires a lot of movement. Generously pepper the chicken on every side as you saute it. When the chicken is somewhat browned, add the liquid ingredients and let them boil for a minute or so. Make sure to coat the chicken in the liquid. Cover, and throw it in the oven for 30 minutes.
When it comes out, it should be done. There should be a substantial amount of liquid left, and if you want you can thicken it up some before serving. Serve with jasmine rice and tomato wedges, spooning the meaty, garlicky liquid over the rice.
Adobo famously gets better with age, so make sure you hang on to the leftovers.
This recipe sounds delicious - I can't wait to see how the others differ (and guess which is the fav!).
And aren't there some spice mixes labeled "adobo." I think Goya sells a lot of this. Is it all connected in some way?
According to the Food Lover's Companion (available in paper or on the www.epicurious.com site), the definitions are:
adobo
[ah-DOH-boh]
1. A Philippine national dish of braised chicken and pork with coconut milk. 2. A Philippine seasoning composed of CHILES, herbs and vinegar.
It seems to me that the spice is the child of the dish!
There is also a spice mixture in Mexican cooking called adobo, and chipotle peppers do come in adobo sauce. For me the Mexican spices seem like a distant cousin or something... the Philippines are also a "Hispanic" country, and my understanding is that adobo (the kind I'm writing about here) has a some Spanish influence.
Ah, adobo! I'm still getting used to the fact that there can be many variations of adobo, and the one I grew up with, the one my mom made and her mom made, isn't necessarily the ONE, TRUE, and ONLY recipe. It's too much of a comfort food for me to experiment with, though!
FYI: The Mexican Goya adobo seasonings are not at all the same as the Filipino adobo.
As someone who also grew up eatting this dish, it still amazes me as to how many different ways one can prepare this dish. My Aunt made this dish by marinating the meat in the sauce for a few hours before actually starting the cooking process. I also found out through my own experiments with this dish that using Filipino vinegar makes a huge difference. And lastly, trying to make this dish "healthy" (i.e. taking the skin off, useing chicken breast, etc...) is an injustice. It's like trying to make bacon "healthy".
My family loves this dish. I am not fillipino but I have brought my kids up on this but I always used cider vinegar, less pepper and after browning rhe chicken pieces I always simmered it in a large pot on the stove for many hours adding fresh garden green beans to the chicken and sauce towards the end.
We never have any left overs. =)
I looove adobo, my mom cooks it a bit differently as well - she sometimes simmers it with bits of banna blossoms (which i think makes it smell even yummier) and laurel leaves.....
Do you know how adobo chicken is related to the adobo sauce you get canned chipotle peppers in?