So you want to cook Filipino adobo? Here's the easiest recipe

Chicken adobo

Let's try something new. A few of you have asked for this recipe, so I've decided to add food recipes to the usual topics covered by this blog, "Views From the Edge."

Let's talk about adobo.

Adobo is widely touted as the Philippines' national dish although every province might  argue that assumption. Every family has its own variation and they'll rightly claim that their version is the best.  That's the beauty of this dish and reflects part of the nature of being Filipino -- it is adaptable.

This is from my family cookbook "Welcome to Our Table" that starts out with this line: "Food is as important to one's culture as great art, monuments, writings, values and mores."

One year, an adobo recipe won the Best Recipe at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. It is no wonder with its generous use of the stinking rose. One one cooking TV show, the host called it the best chicken recipe she had ever tasted.

Every Filipino who knows his or her way around the kitchen has a version of this dish. I tinkered around with my mother's original recipe, making the sauce more like a gravy and cut down on the oil.

INGREDIENTS

 

Cut up one whole chicken or use a package of favorite chicken parts already cut up. Because of the long braising time, thighs and drumsticks work better than breasts. 

Pork is a popular substitute. Pork with lots of fat works best. Simply cut pork shoulder (or butt) into  bite-size portions. (half-inch to one-ince).

Fish should be left whole.

For a 3-lb chicken or cut-up pork, use two or three tbs of minced garlic.

Low sodium soy sauce & apple cider vinegar. This is the combination that makes this dish distinct from other Southeast Asian cuisines and confuses non-Filipinos. White vinegar or coconut vinegar can be substituted. Start with a quarter cup each and depending on your preferences increase soy sauce if you want it saltier; increase vinegar if you prefer a more sour taste. For me, I increase the vinegar to a third-cup.

1-2 tbs ground black pepper (Some receipes use whole black peppercorns, but I don't like the bites of peppercorns with the adobo meat.

1-2 tbs  whole bay leaf. (Whole bay leafs are easier to lift out of finished dish.)

For extra umami, I add 2 tbs. oyster sauce. 

1 16-oz low sodium chicken stock

Cornstarch slurry. 2 tbs cornstarch stirred with enough water or chicken stock. Some like the sauce soupy. I prefer to thicken it a bit so it sicks to the rice.

1 tbs. peanut oil.

EASY COOKING

I use a dutch oven but it can be cooked in a wok or large deep fry pan.

1. Heat pan, add oil

2. Brown meat until half-cooked.

3. Add minced garlic, stir.

4. Add half of chicken stock, or enough to almost cover meat. Meat will shrink and juices will add to the sauce as it braises. If using chicken, some crud will float to the top. Use a spoon and try and scoop it out of the developing broth.

5. Add bay leaf and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer until meat is cooked through. Chicken doesn't take as long as pork. I like to let it simmer until meat is tender. (An extra 20 minutes for pork).

6. Bring back to boil, add corn starch slurry to thicken sauce. If cooking fish. this is when you add whole or large chunks of fish and then let it simmer some more until fish is cooked through.

Before serving, remove bay leaf. Best served over hot rice. (For those concerned about diabetes -- and there's a lot of us -- well, I've learned to like brown rice.)

VARIATIONS

There are as many variations as the Philippines has islands. Here a few:

• Omit vinegar and follow directions. Before adding cornstarch slurry, add juice from one lemon, stir in for a more East Asian taste.

• For a more Malaysian take on the dish, follow directions but before adding slurry, add a tbs or two of peanut butter and stir it is dissolved. 

• If you like a crispier skin, remove chicken to an oven-friendly plate or pan, broil a minute or two. Careful! You have to watch carefully not to burn the chicken.

I was able to make some meals for my mother before she passed away. I used this recipe for one dinner and she told me, "You're a good cook." One of my proudest moments that I'll never forget.

I hope you enjoy it. Let me know how it turns out.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional recipes, commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.