Friday, January 29, 2010

ADOBO NATION

I just love the way the word adobo rolls out from your tongue. ADOBO! It sounds like it's a command. Or a salute.  For a Filipino the word adobo sounds like a nickname.  When you introduce yourself as Filiipino, instantly what comes to mind when it comes to food is... yes ADOBO!

A few years ago in Florida someone asked me if I'm from Hawaii... "your name Malou sounds Hawaiian" she said.   "No I'm from the Adobo Nation"  was my quick reply and she said "Oh so you're from the Philippines!"  she said.  This proved to me that adobo is synonymous to Filipino cooking...

I guess growing up in Adobo Nation made me veer away from cooking adobo. I'm all adobo-ed out!! haha But don't get me wrong, I still serve it to my family but only sporadically. I  usually cook a big pot of adobo because adobo is better after a day, and I usually put my "twist" on the dish. In my entry Adventures of the American Adobo   I "americanized" my adobo by adding apples to the dish. 


In another entry,  Skip To Malou I made a dish called Adobo Nation Salad Sensation wherein, the adobo is paired with green salad instead of rice and a special pineapple vinaigrette. 


If you're wondering why I'm posting another "adobo" dish, it's because this month Kulinarya (please see footnote below) is featuring ADOBO as the dish of the month.  This group was initiated by three ladies from Sydney: Trissa , Trishia and Kath  and I just joined the group last week (thank you ladies for the invite).

The adobo recipe I would like to share is called  Adobo Chicken Delight.  I was true to the basic ingredients of adobo but the twist is in that I made it into a fried chicken and made a sauce.  Yes folks it's cooked as adobo then deep fried...




So let's begin:

the basic ingredients of adobo:
2-3 lbs. chicken
3/4 c vinegar
1/2 c soy sauce
pepper
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 bay leaves (crushed)
In a saucepan, combine all the wet ingredients and crushed garlic together. Let it simmer. Add black pepper and crushed bay leaves. Allow the ingredients to fuse in together for a few more minutes, then you are ready to add the  chicken. Cook for about 30 minutes. Drain the chicken and set aside the sauce as you will need it later  to make adobo rice.


You could actually end here, as this is the classic adobo dish... but if you want to go further, read on.
For the breading:
1/2 c cornstarch
1/2 c flour
salt &pepper
paprika or any preferred seasoning 
 Fill a large skillet (cast iron is best) about  half full with vegetable oil. Heat until VERY hot.. Meanwhile, roll the chicken pieces into the breading. Shake off excess flour.  Drop  5-6  pieces into the hot oil.  Make sure there's enough space to stir the chicken. Deep fry it until golden brown. Drain the fried chicken.  It should be crispy goden brown like so: 
 
 
Now for the rice:
 
Put cooked jasmine rice on the same pan where you cooked the adobo.  (remember the pan with the adobo sauce you saved earlier) Remove excess sauce as it may make the rice too mushy.  Add toasted garlic... your rice should look like so:
 
For the dressing:
Mix yogurt, vinegar, sugar and chives.  Adjust it to your taste.  I did mine really creamy, but if you want it thinner add more vinegar.  Now that you have the fried chicken, the adobo rice and the dressing you are ready to have  ta-dah... the ADOBO CHICKEN DELIGHT to enjoy:
 
 
 
 





.  The Kulinarya Cooking Club aims to promote the wonderful world of the Filipino cuisine. Each month, the KCC members will feature a dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino food as we do.








 



40 comments:

  1. W-O-W! This is gourmet adobo!
    I love the name change too!

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  2. This is a nice adobo version. I should try this fried chicken one of these days. :D

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  3. I had to tell you how much I like the name of your blog. Adorable.

    This dish looks fantastic.

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  4. @foodie2! Thank you for being here every single post! haha!Im glad you liked the name change... it took me a lot of thinking changing it to SKIP TO MALOU!

    @divina: i know fried chicken is bad but it's soooo good!

    @Chuya: thank you for the kind words, it took me a lot of thinking to change the name to tell you honestly!

    @basil: this one's for you basil!

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  5. Fantastic Malou! You did so many great variations on the adobo! I totally enjoyed this post! Thanks for joining kulinarya. Looking forward to more wonderful recipes.

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  6. Hi Malou. Your Adobo looks divine. I think Frying the chicken and then making the sauce is a good way of jazzing it up. I noticed that the Kulinarya banner is pixelated. I will send you a high res version once I am back from holidays. Thanks again for joining.

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  7. Now that's adobo! I love classic adobo as much as the next Filipina but your variations are wonderfully creative. The only deviation I've done is to make 'empanadobo' - yup, adobo-filled empanadas. Not as original as yours but it proves the endless possibilities with adobo.

    I'll definitely try out this fried adobo (and the sauce is heavenly!)

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  8. @TRISSA: I'm excited for Kulinarya!!! You ladies deserve a pat in the back for initiating this project.
    @Kat: I know it's pixalated... looking forward to get a new one from you. are you on vacay? have fun!
    @TN: hmmm empanadados sounds yummy too. i've never seen one yet. can you put mayo in the emapanadados? i just love mayo with adobo... haha!

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  9. My jaws literally dropped when I saw the trifecta tower of DEEP FRIED adobo, garlic fried rice and gooey sauce. Genius!!!

    I've NEVER tried making adobo before but I need to real soon. And I will definitely use one of your recipes! But for the mean time, would you mind shipping a Balikbayan box full of this deep fried goodness?

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  10. this is ADOBO HAUTE COUTURE ADOBO!!! I've never seen such! Great job!

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  11. I will be dreaming of this adobo tonight! That white sauce is intriguing me... definitely your OH-SO-DELISH trademark.
    BTW, I love the name change it's so you!

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  12. As Ningning said this is Malou-liscious!

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  13. I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as too much adobo. I didn't realize it was a Filippino thing!

    Great dish.

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  14. I love the name change! Love the adobo on a higher note too. Genius!

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  15. @Nimfa: thank you for the compliment. it's the same adobo but i wanted it to take center stage!
    @Mel: the white sauce perked up the adobo dish. I used to have my adobo with pandesal with lots of mayo and that gave the idea for me to do this dish.

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  16. This is adobo heaven!

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  17. holymacaroni!!!! this is purely and utterly one of the best adobo recipes to date! Great job Malou and welcome again to KCC!

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  18. Anonymous: thank you for the compliments and see you around!
    Joanne: Adobo is also popular in Latin America and Spain... which gives me the idea that I will have to cook their version too one of these days!

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  19. Anonymous: That's definitelty a compliment... thanks mucho!
    trisha: thank you for the kind words, i'm tickled pink. I'm so excited to join KCC, and I had this thought balloon yesterday that maybe just maybe we will have a gen meet soon hahaha!

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  20. Thank you for giving our adobo the centerstage. Such an adobo chicken delight indeed!

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  21. hi jennifer,
    thanks for stopping by my blog... our adobo deserves the centerstage... it's a very simple dish yet and it has the basic ingredients of filipino cuisine.

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  22. This is a great version of adobo! I so understand you about not cooking adobo...for most of my life I never even attempted it because someone else always made it...now that I have started though I am enjoying every minute of it :)

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  23. Hi Chichajo!
    im so thrilled to see you stop by. i hope you could find the time to try my version of adobo... see you around!

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  24. Heard a lot about adobo chicken. your dish looks very delicious. I have to try one of these days. Thanks for sharing.

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  25. HI MARY!
    I hope you will find the time to try our chicken adobo.. thanks for stopping by!

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  26. I've not had adobo yet, in any form. This looks great though. So glad to learn more about Filipino food.

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  27. I've never had adobo before, could do with some! Wish I were your neighbour too!

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  28. Cheah,
    I'd love to be neighbors with you hihihi... ill sneak out some Hup Toh Sow from your kitchen hahaha!

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  29. Lori,
    I'm glad you are open to other cuisines... filipino food is not as popular as other Asian food... I intend to introduce more of our food through this blog, although I admit, I put my take and twists on it most of the time...
    Im glad to see you back Lori!

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  30. that looks incredible. im sort of obsessssed with adobo so perhaps ill give it a try!

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  31. I don't believe I've had adobo before but would love to try, it sounds delightful!

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  32. HI Sarah! Thanks for stopping by... try my version of adobo and lemme know... enjoy!
    Hello Natasha: great to see you again. Yes twas really delightful!

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  33. hi malou,

    love ur version of chicken adobo, specially the crispy skin....just looking at it makes me crave for that bad! baaaddddd! crispy skin...lol..

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  34. hi cusinera!
    thanks for stopping by... i know it's bad but we could indulge once in awhile...haha!

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  35. This is kicking up adobo a notch - well done!

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  36. Oh that looks delicious! Wow! And yes, I think adobo is the only Philippino dish I can name off the top of my head!

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  37. Whoa, and I thought my adobo recipe was unconventional!

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  38. Got the wings getting happy on the stove now. Smells absolutely divine!!!!

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