Recipe: Adobo Filipino sa Toyo (Pork and Chicken Adobo in Soy Sauce)

My colleague in the health profession, Ms. Blanca Padilla was so thrilled by the Filipino version of the adobo that she just gobbled it all up!  Asking me for the recipe, I said that I had my adobo perfected after so much trial and error, after studying the various ways and techniques of arriving at the final product and I did not come to that conclusion without research and testing.

After doing some reading, I found out that the Hispanic origins of the word came from “adobar” and essentially means “to marinade”.  But there is likewise a historical anecdote that it also meant “to strengthen” and whether this is accurate or not is still in my mind though the story behind it is that during the olden days of no refrigeration and exploration conquest, navy soldiers were sent months at sea without much provisions except what they have packed in the ship months before.  After all, what can one see for miles and miles of seawater?  So, the adobo, which is laden in fat and pickled in the acids cooked during the process is the perfect “provision”.  But think about it – marinade, pickling, preservation, no-refrigeration, strengthen – these as the qualities of a good adobo.

The acids used in the process seem to differ as well from what I think is historical tradition and the contemporary version.  From what I gather, the acids used then were fruit juices from citrus unlike the vinegar that is used today.  But if one were to see whether there could be some plausibility in this, I would say yes – that this is possible – since the French confit, a duck dish likewise laden with fat and is somewhat like the adobo, uses slices of apples and citrus juices to serve as protective barrier from heat of the French oven that it the slow cooking process the duck is dehydrated by the oils and the fruits are browned but not burnt.  The final product is also as intense and well marinated with juices a bit caramelized as the adobo.

Which draws us to the next part of this historical journey.  When I was growing up in Manila during the late seventies, my father would almost take us kids every summer for vacation in his hometown of Labo, Camarines Norte.  Now, this was a treat for all of us because in the late Sixties, we rarely went to he provinces and it seems that the older he got, the more longing did he have going back home and thus, it became more frequent.  It was during these years that I got to meet a housekeeper by the name of “Tiyang Torne”.

A rather small lady, Tiyang Torne had the nerves of steel to withstand the heat of the raging fire of a wood burning stove.  Because the stove used the compact shell of the coconut as its fuel rather than ordinary wood, the heat was more intense that sometimes, the pans would suddenly smoke and one had to kill the heat with some splashes of water.  It is this intense heat is ESSENTIAL for the making of good adobo.

My mother, a rather thin lady raised in the tradition of vintage Manila with Chinese and Filipino roots always insisted that almost every dish she starts on the stove must be initiated with a sautéing process of the basic condiments – usually garlic and onions.  In so many ways, it is true.  The best decaramelizing agent for food is actually a good broth and this starts with the mirapoix which is usually composed of celery onions and carrots which are usually sautéed in medium heat with oil.

Then, there is my sister, Justina Elieza, my mother’s “junior” – she is credited for teaching me the value of sautéing ground black pepper and salt in oil.  This process wakes up he oils of the peppercorns making it spicier and more intense.

Anyway, these two elements, heat and a good sauté are the basic components in initiating the best adobo.  With that in mind, we now proceed to the recipe.

Ingredients.

• 3-4 kilos of meat which are fat laden. (Could be 1 kilo pork and 1 kilo chicken; best cuts would include chicken legs and thighs, pork shoulder, pork bellies – fattier the better!!)
• 1 tablespoon of salt (essential for a pickling process)
• 1 tablespoon or more freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium to large head of garlic, peeled and chopped finely
• 3 laurel leaves
• 3/4 cup vinegar, white or for a more authentic taste, coconut vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/8 cup oil to sauté or better yet, use the oils from cracklings of chicken fat/pork

Procedure.

1. Use a thick pot – the thicker the better.  Under very high heat – and one can test this: without oil sprinkle a few drops of water: the water should sizzlingly jump and instantly evaporate or when one pours the oil, the oil smokes almost instantly! With the VERY hot oil, sauté pepper, garlic, laurel leaves and salt together.  This “wakes up” all the spices!
2. Once done, NOT charred, throw in the meats and sauté well.  Cover and down the heat to a high medium – boiling vigorously yet not burning the bottom.  At this point, the heat begins to extract all the fat from the meats making the mixture thicker with oils and the proteins as they get degraded by the heat.  Stir occasionally to prevent burning the bottom. Cover and lower the heat to medium, opening the pot occasionally to give a quick stir.
3. Once the liquid is thick enough, pour in the vinegar and once again cover and under lower heat, reduce further reduce the sauce resembles to a sauce.
4. Again, once the sauce is thick enough, pour the soy sauce.  Cover and simmer with low heat to reduce the soy sauce.
5. At this point, the sauce is thick and the soy sauce, vinegar and meats have caramelized well.  Turn off the heat and leave to settle.  Warm, serve with hot rice.

Tips.

• Retention of heat is important!  There is a tendency to lose heat once the meats are put in the pot.  Therefore, the use of a well heated thick pot is a must!
• Do not forget to sauté the spices and the salt before adding the meat.  Waking up the flavor of the spices is good for the dish.
• Use thick cuts of meat and the fattier the better.  Remember, that the ultimate goal is to preserve the meat in its own marinade of meat juices, spices, salt and oils.  Smaller cuts may be used only if the meat is tough but otherwise, meats of acceptable tenderness would do well with larger cuts.
• Because the goal is preservation, try to “age” the dish overnight before consumption.  It’s okay to keep in the refrigerator but traditionally speaking, it keeps well in room temperature. (We are not responsible for consequences of any risks taken for eating it this way.)