Chicken Adobo (Filipino Adobo, not Mexican)

I think this is the easiest thing in my repertoire.  It's pretty much foolproof and Jon loves it which makes it a pretty common dish around here. 

Adobo always reminds me of being at home because we had it growing up a lot too.  Even now that I am all grown up and married to a white guy, I still have to eat it with a spoon and fork (the Filipino way!).  It feels weird to eat it with just a fork. 

In case you aren't familiar with the spoon and fork method, let me instruct you.  Your fork goes in your left hand (this is for right handed people, reverse if you're a south paw) and spoon goes in your right hand.  Gather up some adobo and rice into a nice little pile with your spoon on your plate, then push the little pile into your spoon with your fork and eat it out of the spoon!  See?  Now isn't that efficient?  Jon still refuses to try, even though I'm convinced he realises the sheer convenience and efficiency of the method. 

I think there's also some rule that you have to have equal portions of meat to rice on your spoon.  My parents would always look at me like I was adopted if I was just eating meat without rice on there.  My dad would just keep saying, "Don't you want more rice?  Here!  You don't have any more rice!"  It was like a dinner tragedy if one's plate was void of rice yet still had meat on it.  Ha ha!  Oh eating at home.  It's still like that.  Yeah, those of you who have eaten with my parents (esp. my dad) know what I"m talking about.

If you ever want to witness the quirkiness of my family's eating habits, I'll invite you to the next family bbq.  Just shoot me a comment! 

Back to the recipe. 

There are 2 schools of thought that I know of when it comes to adobo.  One being my mom's and the other being my sister's.  (As you can tell, I'm not so well read on the traditional adobo history or whatever).  Mom says no water, sister says as much water as soy sauce and vinegar.  Being the experimenter that I am, when I broke off on my own I used the in between rule:  half as much water as soy sauce and vinegar.  It seemed to work well for me.  Tonight I tried it my sister's way and Jon told me he prefers it stronger the way I usually make it.  I think I like it fine either way.  You can experiment on your own.  Here's the recipe the way I usually make it.


Adobo
(adapted from mom and sister...probably Lola's recipe)

Ingredients
2lbs chicken thighs or legs (this also works really well with pork ribs!!)
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons of water
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 bay leaf

Method

1.  Place all ingredients into a pot and do not stir!!  Lola(grandma) says if you stir it then your adobo will be sour!  Make sure your pot isn't too big.  The liquid around your chicken should rise to at least halfway up the chicken.

2.  Heat up to boiling.  Once it has boiled Lola allows you to stir it.

3.  Cover and reduce heat to simmering.  Let it simmer at least 30 minutes or up to an hour.  The longer you let it simmer, the more flavor it has.  Just watch out, if you let it go too long it'll look like pulled pork.

4.  Serve over hot rice!  Don't forget the sauce!  That goes all over the rice!

Yes friends, it's that easy.  Not too many pictures tonight because, as you can see, the method is not all that complicated.  I think there are lots of variations on adobo in the Philippines, but this is how my family does it.  In some places they use coconut vinegar, in others they don't use soy sauce, in yet others chiles are added.  As far as I know, the adobo that we make is pretty standard.  I think it's the national dish of the Philippines or something right?  Super common.  Try it out!  I hope you like it!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Dear God,

  thank you for little comforts that remind me of my childhood and home.  Whenever I start to get that nostalgia for home, help me to remember that my ultimate home is in heaven and help me strive to get to you always.  Amen.