Adobo, A Great Philippine Food

Have you ever seen the video of a Tagalog speaking American cooking "Adobong Manok"? It just shows that Adobo fever has reached the world and people have been making their own versions of it, that even restaurants abroad have concocted their own Adobo. I’m sure that people have already tried this one of a kind dish when they visited the Philippines. It’s impossible to miss it as you can find it in any restaurant around Manila. Adobo can now be equated to both Philippine culture and the Filipinos in general.



Adobo can be categorized as a stew, unlike other Adobo from other countries like Puerto Rico, which uses it as a marinate for meats. Adobo is a Filipino recipe that contains either chicken or pork meat or even at times both, marinated, along with some hard boiled eggs, for long hours in vinegar, soy sauce and other spices such as garlic, bay leaf and peppercorns. Cooked in oil and served piping hot with steamed rice. The origin of the dish is still unknown but experts say it came from the Malays’ Ginataan, which is considered a distant relative of the Adobo. Ginataan is chicken and pork meat cooked with vegetables in coconut milk and garnished with vinegar, garlic and soy sauce. Years after that, the Spaniards colonized the Philippines for 400 years and they have imparted to the Filipinos the concept of Adobo, which is the sauce, marinade or seasoning used in cooking a dish. With the prevalence of soy sauce brought by the Chinese traders during that era, Filipinos have created such succulent dish. Others argue that Adobo may have been derived from another Spanish dish-Adobado, which is cured pork loin simmered in olive oil and vinegar. Adobo is so special during the Spanish occupation that they only serve it when guests such as friars or high ranking government officials come visit. Adobo can be prepared days before and even with the lack of a cold storage, it can be preserved for latter consumption.



The variants of Adobo can be comparable to the islands in the Philippines depending on the resources or produce that particular area has. Aside from the meal, Adobo has transcended from being on the plate and into bite sized sandwiches, Siopaos or even Puto (rice cakes), or as a snack product marketed as "Adobo flavored", these include nuts, chips and biscuits. No matter what, Adobo will always be Adobo, an aroma that would tease your sense, a dish so irresistible you definitely need to have a second bite and something we Filipinos can be proud of.