It took me a couple of days to decide on what to write next. I was debating on two different topics but then I thought I should focus more on adobo, which is unofficially the national dish of the Philippines.
Filipinos, no matter where we are in different parts of the world, will always find ways to cook adobo.. we would use different brands of soy sauce and vinegar, just to be able to eat our famous dish. I mean who can live without adobo? Why is it a more famous dish, compared to menudo, afritada, sinigang, paksiw or tinola ( the dish that was mentioned in Noli me Tangere)?.
I searched as usual on wikipedia.. (it has been my bff, I could always count on it whenever I needed to know about something).. I wasn't surprise to learn that adobo is actually a Spanish dish. I mean our country was colonized for more than 300 years by the Spaniards, so naturally, everything has Spanish influence on it... even our veins, has Spanish blood flowing on it.
Adobo, is from a Spanish word adobar, which means to marinate, sauce or seasoning..it is a way of cooking, and not really the name of the dish.. the real name of the dish is long forgotten. Pre-hispanic Filipinos probably cook adobo, they used vinegar to preserve food. There are a lot of ways to cook adobo, some use just vinegar and salt. This is called "adobong puti". A more common one, is using vinegar and soy sauce. This is called "adobong itim". Some add coconut milk, which is called "adobo sa gata". Basic ingredients include oil, vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaf, garlic and peppercorn. But some would add turmeric, ginger, spices, potatoes, boiled egg, sugar. Some prefer adobo with sauce, some wants it dry, by frying the meat or let the adobo cook longer for the sauce to dry up. Different meat and veggies can be used for adobo.. most popular is pork or chicken,.or a combination of both.. but beef can also be used, as well as fish,.shrimp or pusit. For vegetables, we use kangkong, eggplant, sitaw (long beans) or kamote tops. And as usual, we eat adobo with rice..
I remember cooking adobo when I was 10 or 11. I think I convinced my mother that I am capable of cooking our dinner. I overcooked it, leaving the pork dry, like it was fried. She said I burned it. Haha.. but my aunt and cousin said it was good.. they probably prefer dry adobo, as opposed to my mother who likes it with sauce. Lol..
There was also a time when me and elementary friends experimented on cooking adobong kangkong and adobong sitaw at one of the classmate's house. It turned out good. We had fun cooking that night..
Here in Chicagoland, I read that there is a yearly Adobo Fest. Its a fundraising event. You could either taste or join the adobo cooking contest. The best tasting adobo will win some prizes. This year it was held last September 19. If you wanna know more about it, visit their website at www.adobofest.org.
Most cooking shows feature adobo recipes.. I remember Del Monte Kitchenomics, which used to be a segment on noon time show Eat Bulaga. Sandy Daza, the chef and segment host, used pineapple juice instead of vinegar,.and he topped it off with pineapple tidbits...yummy.. I sometimes use pineapple juice,and on some days when I felt like experimenting, I substitute orange juice instead of pineapple. It turned out good,.although my friend told me it tasted more like hamonado rather than adobo...oh well..
Kris TV, one of my favorite shows, featured adobo many times. One version of adobo that I haven't tried is the one cooked by Pokwang, a famous Filipina actress. She added cream cheese at the end..hmmm..wonder what it tastes like. Another is Darren Espanto's mom's version, she fried the chicken first before she marinate and simmer it with sauce. She said it made the cooking faster..
Adobo is not only popular to Filipino chefs. Giada de Laurentiis, chef and host of Everyday Italian and Giada at Home on The Food Network also cooked chicken adobo.. I was flipping through different channels when I saw Giada's show was on at that time. She is one of my favorite chefs to watch. That time she was cooking chicken and the way she cooked it was so familiar.. I even thought that time that it is so similar to adobo. Then when she served it to her husband and his friends, they asked her what it is, she then said its Filipino adobo.. OMG! I wonder why she decided to cook adobo and feature it in her show. Does she have Filipino friends? If not, I could be one if she ever needs me. Hahaha.
So what's your dinner tonight? Are you gonna cook adobo? Is it gonna be chicken or pork? Saucy or dry? Enjoy cooking and have a good night!
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