Adobo is the Philippine National Dish. If you haven’t discovered why by now, perhaps it’s time to try it yourself.

Leave-It-Alone-But-Don’t-Let-It-Burn Adobo

As a busy mom, this is my all-time favorite “busy day” dish. The sauce can act as baby food to AJ (when combined with a lot of rice), and the meat itself can be fried to act as “baon” to my long-time friend and daddy-of-my-baby, Ayrsayle, when he goes to the hospital for his nurse duties. I make sure that there are plenty of leftovers for the next day, and for that night when I’m working and feeling munchy.

Here’s the dish:

• 2 kilos of liempo (pork belly, cut up)
• 1/2 cup vinegar (coconut)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• bay leaf (2 pieces)
• pepper whole
• salt
• garlic (1 head, crushed)

Arrange the cut-up liempo in a casserole with the other ingredients and put in plenty of water ’til the meat is submerged. Let boil (while you watch) at high heat, and then simmer it to the lowest heat possible. Leave for 1 hour or so. Check every 15 mins if the water has evaporated too much that the meat fries (in which case, you have to add another cup).

Important: DO NOT stir the adobo while it’s cooking at this stage.

When the dish is almost done, taste and add more salt if the adobo is not salty enough.

Note: This dish can be kept covered on the table for a day or 2 without refrigeration. For a dry version, just separate the meat from the sauce and sautee the meat on 3 tablespoons of cooking oil at high heat.

Recommendation 1: If your planning for a big party/eaters, one good extender for this dish is potato. Just add the potato mid-simmer and cook fo15 mins.

Recommendation 2: For a chicken dish (2 kg), patis may be added as seasoning in lieu of salt.

Recommendation 3: the meat and the sauce may be separated as long as the meat is tender enough. The meat may be fried and drained of oil on paper towels, while the sauce is thickened with cornstarch (just add a small amount of cornstarch diluted in 2 tablespoons water). Sauce may be served on the side or as topping on the fried meat.

Adobong Sitaw (long beans) or Kangkong (water spinach)

Vegetables are great for adobo. The only real difference in ingredients is the onion (which cannot or can rarely be found in all-meat adobo dishes). These are best served as side-dishes to fried meat, or can also be the main viand for lunch or dinner.

Here’s the dish:

• Sitaw 1 bundle, cut up in 2 inch pieces OR Kangkong 1 bundle (leaves and upper stems picked)
• sliced pork (may be liempo or ground pork, 1/4 kilo)
• onions 1 bulb cut up
• garlic half a bulb, crushed
• soy sauce, 1/2 cup
• vinegar (coconut) 1/2 cup
• pepper and fish sauce (pati) for flavor

Put the pork first and add a few tablespoons of water, cook over medium heat until the fat comes out. When the fat from the pork isn’t enough for sauteeing, add a bit of cooking oil. Sautee the garlic and onions along with the browned pork until the garlic browns or the onion softens. Add the soy sauce and the vinegar together with a cup of water, let boil over medium heat then lower the heat and cover for 5 minutes (or until you feel that the flavor is incorporated in the pork). Add pepper and patis according to desired taste. DO NOT STIR.

While simmering on low heat, add the sitaw or kangkong. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes (for sitaw) or 2-3 minutes (for kangkong). Turn off the heat before the vegetables are overcooked.

Recommendation: Some prefer their adobo veggies a bit sweet. Add sugar to the pork-soy-vinegar prior to incorporation of vegetables, but do not stir.

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Note: Why do I keep saying DO NOT STIR in adobo dishes? This is because when the vinegar is stirred prior to being cooked thoroughly, the sour flavor overpowers the rest of the dish ingredients in the finished dish. It’s nice to have that underlying sour taste, but it’s better to have it mixed well with the salty-sweet taste of the soy sauce.

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