Agog For Adobo
My apologies for not writing an article recently but I have been fighting with internet problems and this morning I found out a good friend of mine here in Davao passed away during the night.
I have been a student of history for as long as I can remember and any time that I can cross that with my other passion, cooking then we have a winner. For some time now I have been wondering about my favourite dish here in the Philippines, Adobo.
It seems more or less to be a national dish but everyone has their own way of making it. Where my fascination lies is in the history of this humble dish. For a long time I really wondered if it was truly a Philippine dish or something that made it’s way over during the Spanish Colonial years. So I dug down, talked to some people and discovered some interesting things.
Adobo
Adobo originated hundreds of years ago as a way of preserving pork for long periods of time. Basically around 3 kilos or more of fatty pork were placed in an earthen jar and simmered over a low fire with salt, a little water and coconut vinegar. After 3 hours of cooking most of the fat has rendered out and the Adobo is placed into a glass jar and sealed. The fat rises to the top and creates a seal which will keep the pork from spoiling for allegedly up to 6 months. The French have a similar dish called pork confit and it serves the same purpose, to preserve meat without refrigeration. Sometime around the 1700’s Bay leaves, garlic and peppercorns were introduced into the country and made their way into Adobo. It wasn’t until the late 1800’s when toyo or soy sauce was brought into the country and Adobo transformed from a simmered dish into the quick cooking dish we are familiar with today. Well I just had to try my hand at making some of the historical stuff, so starting with 1 kilo of pork belly I cut it into cubes and added it to a pot with 1/4 c water, 1/8 c salt, 1 T peppercorns, 3 bay leaves and 6 whole cloves of garlic, peeled. Simmer for 15 minutes then add 1/2 c Coconut Vinegar (Sukang Tuba), reduce heat to low and simmer very slowly for 2 1/2 – 3 hours. The smell alone while it was cooking was divine and by the time it was done the meat had taken on a nice brown color and was melt in your mouth tender. I don’t think my wife was too thrilled with it but I put the leftovers in a mason jar and left it on the kitchen table overnight. The next day the flavors had melded together and I was in love with the taste. It was the best pork I have had while living here. If I would change anything the next time I make it, it would be to add some cayenne pepper. My wife and I have really gotten into eating spicy food lately, and well at least cayenne is healthier than MSG.
Hi Louis,
WOW! A cooking blog. Keep the recipes coming!
I used to do a separate blog about cooking but I just wasn’t able to get so many readers or keep up with it while I was in Alaska working.
Louis – Great job! Thanks so much and I do love adobo. Ah gee..there goes the diet…again.
Diet? What’s that? hahaha all joking aside my wife and I follow a diet of sorts where it’s oatmeal for breakfast most mornings and a large meal at lunch or early afternoon. If we are hungry later in the night we try to keep it healthy. I personally like to snack on one of my dill pickles I make over here.
Great article Louis. I love Adobo. I’m going to try and do it in my crock pot and see if I get the same result.
I’d love to have a crock pot any do this recipe on the slow simmer. Sounds like an excellent idea.
Welcome back Louis. I’m sorry to hear about your friend’s passing.
I thank you for the sentiments, it was all quite sudden really.
Louis,
Thanks for the article. Is this picture of your recipe? I see onion in the picture but don’t see it in your ingredients.
No that’s not mine, Bob grabs a picture from somewhere and works it into my article. The adobo in the picture is what I would term a “quick” adobo made in a wok. A recipe for that would be:
1K Pork Belly cut into 1 1/2″ cubes
Season with 1/4t Cayenne Pepper
1 Onion cut into strips
1 shallot diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1t peppercorns
3 bay leaves
2 T Muscavado Sugar
Sauce (mix in bowl):
1/2 C Coconut vinegar
1T Cane Vinegar
1/2 C Silver Swan Soy Sauce
Heat 3T oil in wok and add pork. Stir fry until browned, about 3 mins. Add Onion and shallot and fry until transparent 3-4 mins. Add garlic and stir fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Add sauce, sugar and spices, mix well, turn down heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Remove lid for final 15 mins of cooking.
It’s always best if writers submit photos with their article, and yours are always welcome, Louis!
Ok Bob I will keep that in mind
I have convinced Melanie to simmer the meat for much much longer than she is use to. The meat is nearly falling apart when it is done. We do the same with chicken, and yes! Adobo is one of my favorite dishes from any ethnic group……..i2f
Simmering meat is important over here because pork and especially beef are not as tender as the states. Yes Adobo is my fav dish and I have worked for the last 3 years perfecting my own personal recipe for it which I shared above with albe1.
Hi Louis – Am getting ready to tuck into some pork adobo for lunch right now!
Here’s a culenary question: Outside of the probable availability, why is it one doesn’t encounter baka or kalding (kambing) adobo as much as one does manok or baboy?
In reading a number of history-related books providing observations of Life in the Philippines a century or two ago, I am a little amused to come across statements reflecting that at the main meal, there may be 10-15 plates stacking in front of the diner, upon each of which will be served a meat dish that is a variation or different preparation of the same meat served the plate before.
A century ago the upper classes living here followed a “Spanish Day” schedule. Up at 7am with a light breakfast and tsokolate (hot chocolate basically but a Philippine/Spanish recipe). Between 9a and 12n the business of the day was conducted before retiring to home and eating lunch, the biggest meal of the day. After lunch a siesta for a few hours. Dinner was around 6 or 7pm after which was visitng time when you would visit with friends and family or they would come to your house. Some vestiges of this lifestyle are still apparent even today although people drink coffee more than tsokolate.
In answer to your question, my best idea is that Beef and Goat are just not as widely eaten here as Pork and Chicken. Beef is rather tough and I don’t think stewing it in vinegar for hours would help and goat is hard to find in the palenke. My other guess is that since adobo originated as a way to preserve pork then that “heritage” is still with us as pork is the meat most often used to make it.
Nice article Louis, yes it can be said that adobo is the national dish for Filipinos. Here in the states I always make adobo, the quick type but it still tastes like heaven to me. I often make chicken adobo with very little ingredients. First, I stirr fry garlic to bring out the smell and then add into it the thin-sliced chicken meat. Then, I add into it a pre-mixed in a glass (so I can determine by volume the amount) water about 10% of the liquid, vinegar about 40%, and low-sodium soy sauce about 50% and I used a little white sugar as a substitute for msg. Then boil it for 5 minutes and then simmer it for 30 minutes and then presto, I got adobo!! I will sometimes add cayene pepper and onions or just sprinkle some mrs. dash into it but most of the times I just make it simple and quick.
Cayenne does a great job of substituting for msg and a little pinch will do. My wife and I avoid vetsin (msg) as much as we can which is of course really hard over here because vetsin is in everything.
I am sorry too about your friend’s passing.
Thank you, we will be going to the funeral on Sunday.
Hi louis,
I will have to try your recipe. Living here in southern Cal there is as you know plenty of mexican markets. I recently ran across a jar of Adobo seasoning paste…Kind of like a mole’. It doesn’t taste anything like adobo there in the phils, but still quite pleasing.
Mexican Adobo is more of a marinade than an actual dish but is excellent on some grilled pork.
That recipe really looks delicious. I’ll try it with chicken first. Do you suppose it would also taste good if I use beef ribs later on? Thanks so much for sharing!
There is a version of adobo involving beef that is made primarily in the Batangas. Same recipe, except the amount of water is increased so the meat can simmer well. If you’ve ever eaten carabao meat like is available in the palenke you’ll know it needs a good simmer to be tender. I imagine your beef ribs would be very tasty made this way.
Hi Louis,
Wow, great post. Adobo is really a Spanish word, and meant as you put it, a marinade to preserve food. (I’ve actually had a dish prepared by a Spanish lady friend but she used leg of lamb). But the most interesting thing is the old way of doing adobo, slow, simmering until the fat is gone. And then put in a mason jar, with the fat as natural sealer! And as we all adobo eaters know, it tastes better if kept longer. Now I will have to buy a nice piece of pork. There’s also a variation of adobo called “estofado” using the pig knuckles, it is a bit sweetish. Have you tried that?
Alex
I haven’t tried estofado but every new year we do the deep fried pork knuckles (Crispy Pata). Sounds like an interesting thing to try.
Chef Louie,
Your always making my mouth water. Also the pickles are great and I can eat them all, the girls did not like them.
I rather liked this batch of pickles, just have find a way of keeping them crisper. Even Venice likes them which tells me how much her tastes have changed since I met her.