CHICKEN ADOBO

For some reason, I am quite confused with the origin of Adobo. Is it from Spain or the Philippines? According to some source, the Spanish saw this dish in the Philippines and coined the term Adobo from the manner of stewing meat in vinegar. Anyway, it doesn't matter though. I grew up eating this dish with some scoops (yes, like 3 to 4 scoops) of steamy rice. Seeing my mom doing this dish made me thought of its simplicity in preparation and cooking. I admit it, I usually want my Adobo to be cooked in bulk and eat it for days. Admit it, Filipinos find it more delicious as our Adobo ages, just like wine in barrels. Whenever we have family outings, Adobo is on top of our lists. We do not need to worry on spoilage at the middle of the day since it has vinegar in it.

We have different ways of cooking Adobo here in the Philippines, there are version where you cook it in coconut cream or with soy sauce aside from the usual vinegar. Lately there are restaurants serving different Adobo dishes, from the Adobo rice to Adobo flakes. I do not know its magic but whenever we hear the dish, especially those in abroad, Adobo is associated with Filipinos. The version I will be sharing is the one I learned from my hometown, Los Banos, Laguna.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilogram Chicken, Adobo-cut

1/3 cup Cooking Oil, Palm/Vegetable Oil

3 Tbsp Garlic, minced

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Black Pepper, ground

4 Tbsp White Sugar, refined

3 pcs Laurel Leaves

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

1/2 cup Cane Vinegar

1/4 cup Liquid Seasoning

1/4 cup Cornstarch, to thicken sauce

Procedure:

1. In a sauce pan, heat oil over medium fire.

2. Saute garlic until fragrant for about 1 to 2 minutes. 

3. Add in chicken. Brown the meat for about 5 - 6 minutes or when the chicken changes color.

4. Pour in 3 1/2 cups of water, soy sauce, liquid seasoning, salt, sugar, ground black pepper and laurel leaves. Stir until well mixed.

5. Pour in vinegar. Let it boil for 10 minutes without stirring. After boiling, stir and adjust salt and pepper depending to preferred taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

6. Remove the meat from the sauce. Arrange in serving dish. 

7. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water. Stir until thickens. Pour on the cooked chicken. Ready to serve.

Tips:

1. Browing is partially cooking the meat to remove excess fat and locks in its moisture.

2. Aside from chicken, you can use pork or combination.

3. Avoid stirring when the vinegar is added. It can disturb the reduction of acidity of the vinegar.

4. With practice, you can determine if the vinegar has been cooked by wafting from the saucepan. If it does not sting, your vinegar is already cooked and can be stirred.

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