[CH] recipe: Filipino Chicken and/or Pork Adobo [off-topic]
Brent Thompson (brent@hplbct.hpl.hp.com)
Mon, 20 Sep 1999 12:43:04 -0700
> Andrew Healy wrote:
> >
> > Picked up a packet of 'Mama Sita's Chicken Adobo Sauce Mix' at the weekend.
> > This stuff is seriously nice- not your American Adobo ketchup by any
> > means. Unfortunately the recipe is under copyright in the Philipines.
I have no idea what sort of thing "Mama Sita's Chicken Adobo Sauce Mix"
makes, but the following is an authentic and very good recipe for Filipino
chicken and/or pork adobo. [Off-topic because it has no chile content.]
If you want chiles in the same meal, serve something else that contains
chiles (probably the best choice of which for accompanying adobo would be:
Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitao sa Hipon (Coconut Milk Stew of Squash and
Longbeans with Shrimp and Chiles).
--- Brent
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** Chicken and/or Pork Adobo
(from Luisa Lagmay Thompson)
5+ garlic, large, crushed
2 C. vinegar, nipa palm (from Asian market)
1/3 C. fish sauce (nam pla, patis)
2 Tbs. soy sauce
black pepper, to taste (perhaps 1/2 tsp whole or 1/4 tsp freshly ground)
1 chicken, cut into serving pieces (about 3 lbs.)
1 lb. pork, shoulder, cut into big cubes (~1+ inch)
1 bay leaf, optional
Mix garlic, vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and black pepper (and bay leaf,
if using). Add chicken and/or pork (for this amount of marinade, better
use about 3 lbs of pork if making pork adobo without chicken). Let
marinate for several hours, if possible -- pork especially benefits from
several hour marination. Then bring to a boil and cook until chicken is
nearly done (but boil pork until tender and ready to eat). (Watch out you
don't cook chicken until *too* tender or it will fall apart when you fry it
next).
When ready, remove all meat pieces from the liquid, reserving the liquid.
Fry the pieces of meat, a few at a time, in deep hot oil until crispy,
removing each to a serving dish when it is crisp. (You can put them in a
warm oven to keep warm).
When frying is finished, pour out the excess oil, add the reserved marinade
to the frying pan to deglaze, bring the liquid to a boil, and reduce a
little.
Return crispy meat pieces to warm marinade immediately before serving, or
simply serve meat and sauce separately to ensure meat remains crispy.
Serve with steamed rice.
NOTE: GARLIC:
The original Philippine recipe calls for 1-2 *heads* of garlic, so don't
worry about getting too much garlic. One variation that is possible if the
garlic is lightly crushed is to remove it after boiling the meat and brown
it in the oil (to be later returned to the serving dish) before frying the
meat. If the garlic is minced or finely crushed, removing the garlic to
fry it is impractical. FYI, Luisa doesn't brown the garlic.
NOTE: FISH SAUCE, SOY SAUCE, SALT:
Fish sauce, soy sauce, and salt all supply saltiness; soy sauce also
provides color, as does fish sauce to a lesser degree. The important thing
is to adjust the amounts of these ingredients so the whole thing isn't too
salty, which of course all depends on exactly how much meat you use and how
salty your soy and fish sauces are.
You can replace part or all of the fish sauce by plain salt, depending on
your mood (but please don't eliminate all of it!). Of course, if you
reduce or eliminate the fish sauce, you should increase the soy sauce a bit
so there is still some color.
NOTE: VINEGAR:
Vinegar made from sap of the nipa palm (from the Philippines, available in
any Asian market) is by far the best vinegar to use. To help in
identifying, it is somewhat milky in color. This has a wonderful flavor
and is the best vinegar to use as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, etc., too.
Next best would be 'ordinary' Philippine vinegar or a good white wine
vinegar, if you don't have palm vinegar. Use plain white (clear) distilled
vinegar only as a last resort, and be careful about the amount you use,
since distilled vinegar is stronger (more acidic) than palm or wine
vinegar.
NOTE: SAUCE:
Since the sauce is normally somewhat salty, usually each person takes only
a little sauce -- so it is normal to have more sauce than needed.
NOTE: BAY LEAF:
Luisa doesn't add bay leaf.