Theoretically speaking, recipes are formulas for success. But in actuality, as you may very well know by now, they are not always so. One can follow a recipe to the last milligram of salt and yet come up with something not even the dog would eat. But do not dismay. Just throw the anti-god particles of your stew and try making it again. Anyway, it is possibly not your fault as some recipes are recipes for failure. Some recipes are just utterly unreliable. However, and this is very sad, I find that the most unreliable recipes are those found in our local cookbooks.
I don't know if the writers meant to NOT share their true measurements or if the quality of locally made products (like soy sauce, patis (fish sauce)) are so diverse that choosing one over the other adversely affects the outcome of any particular culinary experiment. For example, when I was starting to cook, I wanted to make Adobo because it was , after all, our national dish (which I think they changed to Sinigang as of late) and I thought with less than 5 ingredients, it would be easy enough to experiment on. I followed the recipe from a cookbook I borrowed to the last drop of soy sauce only to be completely shattered that the adobo turned out to be unforgivably salty and to my utter dismay, completely inedible. To redeem myself, I tried making Beef Calderetta following the recipe from the same cookbook and that made me even more amateurish (which I actually was at this point) and depressed as it turned out too sour. The book has been burned since. Really.
But the inaccurate measurements were not limited to that book alone. I was gifted with another local cookbook, this time one for baking which of course I eventually checked out. I experimented on making Filipinized Pound cake and the result was such a travesty of a cake that the Roadrunner could have used it to stupefy the always unsuspecting Wile E. Coyote by dropping it off a cliff. It came to a point that I stopped cooking Filipino and proceeded to cooking more continental dishes. In fact, I had perfected my Lasagna Bolognese way before my Adobo resembled anything remotely edible.
So because of this, and also because Linggo ng Wika is happening sometime very soon, I am sharing my very reliable and always successful Basic Adobo recipe with high hopes that your success in making this will inspire you to cook more meals for your loved ones . And the reason I say this recipe is very reliable and always successful is because the measurements are completely customizable to your own taste and to whatever kind of vinegar you have at home because the quality and kinds are so diverse. I prefer to use locally made coconut vinegar from the province and not those found in the grocery which could pass off as toilet bowl cleaners. Mine actually comes from Bicol which is brought in by our Yaya (bless her) who has been in our employ for the past 12 years. But if you are not as fortunate as I am and do not have a patient Yaya who hand carries gallons of vinegar from their province, you may want to try Arengga Vinegar or Sukang Iloko. Just adjust the measurements. My brand of soy sauce is plain, ole Silver Swan. My secret is to ALWAYS taste the "vinaigrette" before you put in your meat of choice. If using chicken alone, do not add water. If with pork, I like using the belly and I add a fourth of a cup of water to the mixture below. If making CPA (Chicken-Pork Adobo) I cook the belly ahead by 15 minutes before dropping off the rest of the chicken. Here's the recipe good for one kilo of meat:
Basic Adobo for Dummies or First Time Cooks
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons Vinegar of Choice
1 Teaspoon Whole Black Peppercorns
Garlic (as much or as you like)
5 Bay leaves-crumbled
Pinch of salt
I don't know if the writers meant to NOT share their true measurements or if the quality of locally made products (like soy sauce, patis (fish sauce)) are so diverse that choosing one over the other adversely affects the outcome of any particular culinary experiment. For example, when I was starting to cook, I wanted to make Adobo because it was , after all, our national dish (which I think they changed to Sinigang as of late) and I thought with less than 5 ingredients, it would be easy enough to experiment on. I followed the recipe from a cookbook I borrowed to the last drop of soy sauce only to be completely shattered that the adobo turned out to be unforgivably salty and to my utter dismay, completely inedible. To redeem myself, I tried making Beef Calderetta following the recipe from the same cookbook and that made me even more amateurish (which I actually was at this point) and depressed as it turned out too sour. The book has been burned since. Really.
But the inaccurate measurements were not limited to that book alone. I was gifted with another local cookbook, this time one for baking which of course I eventually checked out. I experimented on making Filipinized Pound cake and the result was such a travesty of a cake that the Roadrunner could have used it to stupefy the always unsuspecting Wile E. Coyote by dropping it off a cliff. It came to a point that I stopped cooking Filipino and proceeded to cooking more continental dishes. In fact, I had perfected my Lasagna Bolognese way before my Adobo resembled anything remotely edible.
Basic Adobo for Dummies or First Time Cooks
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons Vinegar of Choice
1 Teaspoon Whole Black Peppercorns
Garlic (as much or as you like)
5 Bay leaves-crumbled
Pinch of salt
- Put everything together and TASTE. Adjust accordingly. Some like their Adobo more sour than salty, so do adjust. Mine is like a tug-of-war of salty and sour.
- Pour in a non-reactive saucepan and add in meat of choice.
- Cook covered in medium heat without mixing until it has boiled.
- After it has boiled, you may mix it then lower the heat to the lowest possible and cook covered until everything is of a melts-in-the-mouth texture.
You may serve it at this point or, you can separate the meat from the sauce, fry it to make it crispy on the outside but still sticky in the inside and then pour the strained sauce over it when serving so it looks a little more, uhm, sosyal. This is what they call Twice-cooked Adobo (as seen in picture above). It can also be flaked then fried to a crisp to make Adobo Flakes. It can be made without Soy Sauce and then it would called Adobong Puti which was how it was done prior to the arrival of our Chinese neighbors. Throw in a couple of slices of Turmeric or Luyang Dilaw and it will be called Adobo sa Dilaw. If you put some Annatto or Atsuwete Oil in it and pork or chicken liver, it will be Batangas Style Adobo. Add some coconut cream and it will be Adobo sa Gata.
I love Adobo of any form, color and texture. You can make it soupy, dry or fried twice. It could be bright orange, caramel brown or purely white. I'll love it just the same. Smelling the heady brew cooking in my kitchen always makes me want to sing the National Anthem with much love and pride for I think no other aroma can be so distinctly and deliciously Filipino. May the aroma of this Adobo fill your home and bring you fond memories of our beautiful , beautiful country, the Philippines, wherever you are in the world. Enjoy!
*Photo taken by Oliver Zapanta of Lumen8 Studio
Styling by Vanessa Zapanta of Thema
I love Adobo of any form, color and texture. You can make it soupy, dry or fried twice. It could be bright orange, caramel brown or purely white. I'll love it just the same. Smelling the heady brew cooking in my kitchen always makes me want to sing the National Anthem with much love and pride for I think no other aroma can be so distinctly and deliciously Filipino. May the aroma of this Adobo fill your home and bring you fond memories of our beautiful , beautiful country, the Philippines, wherever you are in the world. Enjoy!
*Photo taken by Oliver Zapanta of Lumen8 Studio
Styling by Vanessa Zapanta of Thema
