Adobo... almost like Lola's

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.

Adobo Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo pork cut in cubes + 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into pieces or
• choice of either 1 kilo of pork or 1 kilo of chicken
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup vinegar
• 2 cups of water
  1/2 cup of Lemon Juice (Lola's Addition!)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 5 laurel leaves (bay leaves)
• 4 tablespoons of cooking oil or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons water

Adobo Cooking Instructions:

• In a big sauce pan or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil then sauté the minced garlic and onions.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mix the browned pork and chicken back to the sauce and add cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken.
• Add salt and/or pepper if desired
• Bring to a boil then simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
• Serve hot with the adobo gravy and rice.

Adobo Cooking Tips:

• You have the option to add crushed ginger to the onions and garlic when sautéing. Ginger adds a unique flavor to your pork/chicken adobo.