So this Irish/German girl married into a Filipino family and her new mother-in-law is an amazing cook. She whips up these authentic dishes with ease, like I make mac-and-cheese (from the box). I asked my husband what dish he would like me to copy/learn, and he said Adobo - which is a Filipino staple. So I went to work! Over Thanksgiving one year, we were vacationing in Williamsburg, VA with my husbands whole family, and I sat by his mom "Lola" and took feverish notes. Now something to know about me. I follow recipes. I believe they are there for a reason, and especially if I try something for the first time, I typically will make 203 times before i even THINK about deviating! Well, all my notes were able to capture were which ingredients were used, but the amounts... I couldn't get every pour, dash, dab, pinch, and pour, dash, dab and pinch some more. I started to panic - how in the world was I going to make this authentic dish, if i had NO IDEA what quantities of the ingredients to add!
So I did what any girl in my shoes would do..... I hit the Internet!
I scoured Adobo recipes, until I found one that had MOST of the ingredients that Lola used, and printed it. And where do I decide to test out my recipe? Oh, at Christmas Eve at my house with over 40 Filipino's coming. (I really still don't know what I was thinking!).
Well, it was a huge success. Hubby said it was "very close" and he was proud and touched that I would take a head first dive into his culture and impressing his family. He proudly touted to everyone that I, the white Irish girl, made the Adobo! Accolades were sent from all around. I was speechless.
Here's the recipe I used, with my one addition to it. Found at
FilipinoFoodRecipies.com:
Estimated cooking time: 50 minutes.
Adobo is the most popular Filipino dish enjoyed by all classes.
Adobo is typically served with steamed white rice.
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1/2 kilo pork cut in cubes
+ 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into pieces or
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choice of either 1
kilo of pork or 1 kilo of chicken
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1 head garlic, minced
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1/2 yellow onion, diced
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1/2 cup soy sauce
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1 cup vinegar
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2 cups of water
1/2 cup of Lemon Juice (Lola's Addition!)
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1 teaspoon paprika
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5 laurel leaves (bay leaves)
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4 tablespoons of cooking oil or olive oil
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2 tablespoons cornstarch
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Salt and pepper to taste
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3 tablespoons water
Adobo Cooking Instructions:
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In a big sauce pan or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil then sauté the minced garlic and onions.
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Add the pork and chicken to the pan. Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, vinegar, paprika and the bay leaves.
Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or when meat is tender.
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Remove the pork and chicken
from the sauce pan and on another pan, heat cooking oil and brown the
pork and chicken for a few minutes.
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Mix the browned pork and chicken back to the sauce and add cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken.
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Add salt and/or pepper if desired
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Bring to a boil then simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
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Serve hot with the adobo gravy and rice.
