Adobo takes center stage
It is game night again so absence in the kitchen continues. But it doesn’t mean I can’t post dishes I’ve made before. Tonight, I should put the spotlight on this particular dish ... the famous adobo.
Adobo is one of the most popular Filipino dishes which are very easy to make. The traditional adobo is pork or chicken cuts marinated in soy sauce, garlic, white vinegar, peppercorns, and bay leaves then browned on all sides and simmered in its marinade till the meat is tender and sauce has thickened. There is the dry adobo which is done by just letting the sauce dry up on low heat and adding extra crushed garlic.
Just like my other recipes, my adobo comes in different variations. I've made chicken, chicken and pork, fish, vegetable and tofu adobos. I’ve also tried using different spices and so far- they all work well with the dish. Sometimes I use balsamic vinegar, add some red pepper flakes and a little brown sugar.
When it is just a spur-of-the-moment thing and no time to marinate the meat, Hungarian paprika is my best option to season it along with garlic salt and red pepper. The meat achieves a nice color right before soy sauce is added and the paprika gives it a smoky flavor. Then I would just add white vinegar when the meat is fork tender.
I have learned that adding vinegar in the middle of the simmering process gets in the way of tenderizing the meat. Either have the vinegar in the mix right from the start or add it last when the meat is already tender.
Vinegar needs to be cooked too - meaning the acidity should be part of the meat and not just float on the dish because uncooked vinegar in adobo tastes awful. So it is advisable to add it just when the adobo is almost ready hence giving it enough time to cook and meld with the other flavors. These are the adobo versions I've made so far:
Chicken
Swordfish Adobo
Chicken-Pork Adobo
Green beans and ground pork adobo
Pork Adobo
Eggplant-tofu Adobo for the vegetarians
Adobo fried rice tastes even better! Just use the sauce as you would use garlic salt in making fried rice then serve with the adobo meat on the side.
As of posting time... we got the W via another overtime..... now I can heave a sigh of relief :-)GO LAKERS!
Adobo is one of the most popular Filipino dishes which are very easy to make. The traditional adobo is pork or chicken cuts marinated in soy sauce, garlic, white vinegar, peppercorns, and bay leaves then browned on all sides and simmered in its marinade till the meat is tender and sauce has thickened. There is the dry adobo which is done by just letting the sauce dry up on low heat and adding extra crushed garlic.
Just like my other recipes, my adobo comes in different variations. I've made chicken, chicken and pork, fish, vegetable and tofu adobos. I’ve also tried using different spices and so far- they all work well with the dish. Sometimes I use balsamic vinegar, add some red pepper flakes and a little brown sugar.
When it is just a spur-of-the-moment thing and no time to marinate the meat, Hungarian paprika is my best option to season it along with garlic salt and red pepper. The meat achieves a nice color right before soy sauce is added and the paprika gives it a smoky flavor. Then I would just add white vinegar when the meat is fork tender.
I have learned that adding vinegar in the middle of the simmering process gets in the way of tenderizing the meat. Either have the vinegar in the mix right from the start or add it last when the meat is already tender.
Vinegar needs to be cooked too - meaning the acidity should be part of the meat and not just float on the dish because uncooked vinegar in adobo tastes awful. So it is advisable to add it just when the adobo is almost ready hence giving it enough time to cook and meld with the other flavors. These are the adobo versions I've made so far:
Chicken
Swordfish Adobo
Chicken-Pork Adobo
Green beans and ground pork adobo
Pork Adobo
Eggplant-tofu Adobo for the vegetarians
Adobo fried rice tastes even better! Just use the sauce as you would use garlic salt in making fried rice then serve with the adobo meat on the side.
As of posting time... we got the W via another overtime..... now I can heave a sigh of relief :-)GO LAKERS!
Comments
Post a Comment