Adobo Recipe – Adobo Flakes

This is one adobo dish that we really love.  I sometimes make this when we have leftover adobo. But most of the time I make this from scratch when the craving for adobo flakes sets in.  This adobo recipe can be done with pork or chicken but I prefer to do this with a combination of both. This is so good with either rice or as a sandwich filling.  When we eat this with rice, a fried egg would usually go with it.  As a sandwich filling, we usually add in some mayonnaise, tomatoes and lettuce.  It takes longer than usual to cook this adobo dish but the effort is worth it.  Try it and you will find out.

Ingredients :

1 whole chicken cut into adobo serving size

1 kg pork pigue or kasim, cubed

½ cup white vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 laurel leaf

1 tsp whole peppercorns

4 tbsp cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Combine pork, chicken, vinegar, garlic, laurel leaf and peppercorns in a pan. Boil uncovered. 
2. Add ½ cup water and simmer over low heat until pork and chicken are tender.  Add water a little at a time if the sauce dries up. The pork and chicken have to be really tender to enable flaking. 
3.  When tender remove the pork and chicken from the pan and drain. Set aside to cool.  Do not discard the pan juices. 
4.  When cool, flake the chicken and pork.  Use your hands or do it with a fork. 
5.  Return the flaked chicken and pork to the pan and cook over low heat.  This will allow the flakes to absorb all the adobo sauce and drippings from the pan.  Simmer until the sauce dries up.
6.  When dry, add cooking oil pan fry the flakes over low heat, taking care not to burn the flakes.   When flakes turn golden brown and crispy remove from pan and serve.  

Adobo Recipe – Pork Adobo with Liver Sauce

With the addition of mashed pork liver, it’s like having lechon paksiw with this dish. The mashed pork liver will give this adobo dish a thick and rich sauce.   We usually have this with green mangoes and bagoong on the side. 

Ingredients:

1 kg pork kasim or pigue, cubed

½  kg pork liver

½  cup white vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 laurel leaf

1 tsp whole peppercorns

Procedure:

1.  Grill the pork liver over charcoal or in the oven will do.  The liver has to be well done. 
2.  Mash pork liver either by rough pounding this with mortar and pestle.  Take care not to pound the liver too finely; the sauce of the adobo will be more delicious with small bits of liver in it.   Set aside.  
3.  In a pan, combine pork, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, laurel leaf and peppercorns.  Boil uncovered.
4.  Add in the mashed pork liver.  Turn down the heat and simmer until pork is fork tender.  The sauce will tend to dry up fast because of the mashed pork liver so be sure to check out the dish from time to time.  Add a little water if sauce dries up.  The dish should have a thick sauce when done.  Serve hot.

Adobo Recipe – Pork Binagoongan

I have included this dish in the adobo category because it’s basically cooked as adobo with the addition of bagoong (shrimp paste) at the end.  You may used grocery-bought bottled bagoong or the fresh bagoong alamang from the market.  This is another adobo dish that should be served with a lot of rice because of the bagoong. 

Ingredients :

1 kg pork pigue or kasim, cubed

½  cup white vinegar

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 laurel leaf

1 tsp whole peppercorns

2 tbsp bagoong alamang (shrimp paste)

Procedure :
1.  Combine pork, vinegar, garlic, laurel and peppercorns in a pan and boil uncovered. 
2.  Turn down the heat and cook until pork is fork tender.  You may add a little water at a time if the liquid dries up. 
3.  Once the pork is done, turn up the heat to medium.  At this point, the pork should have rendered its fat and the dish will have some oil. 
4.  Add in the bagoong and cook, stirring continuously.  If using the fresh bagoong, cook until the bagoong is done.  If using bottled bagoong  (which already pre-cooked) as soon as the bagoong is fragrant, the dish is done.  Serve hot.

Adobo Recipe – Adobong Tagalog

This adobo recipe is something I learned from my father who hails from Laguna.  It is sometimes called the white adobo because of the absence of soy sauce.    You can use either pork or chicken or a combination of both for this dish.  I prefer using a combination as the pork fat will give added flavour.  The simplicity of this adobo dish actually makes the flavour of the chicken and/or pork really come out. 

Ingredients :

1 whole chicken cut into adobo serving size

1 kg pork pigue or kasim, cubed

¾ cup white vinegar

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 laurel leaf

1 tsp whole peppercorns

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Combine chicken, pork, vinegar, garlic, laurel and peppercorns in pan.  Over high heat bring to a boil uncovered. 
2.  After it boils, cover pan and simmer over low heat until chicken and pork are fork tender.  You may add a little water at a time if sauce dries up. 
3.  When chicken and pork are tender, turn up the heat to medium.  This will allow the remaining sauce to evaporate.  Add salt to taste. Continue cooking, taking care to mix continuously so as not to burn as it dries up and to sear the chicken and pork evenly on all sides.  Serve hot.

Adobo Recipe – Batangas Pork Adobo

 This adobo dish was taught to me by a former officemate who hails from Batangas.  What makes this pork adobo dish different is the addition of achuete (annatto seeds) that colors it orange.  The achuete is quick fried in oil to extract the color instead of the usual way of soaking the seeds in water to extract the juice.  This gives it not only a nice color but added distinct flavour that makes this pork adobo recipe so delicious.

Ingredients:

1 kg pork kasim or pigue, cubed

½ cup vinegar

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 onion, diced

1 laurel leaf

1 tsp peppercorns

½ cup achuete (annatto seeds)

5 tbsp cooking oil

Procedure:

1.  Heat cooking oil in pan.  Add in the achuete seeds and quick fry for about 10 seconds or until the oil turns orange.  Remove achuete seeds. 

2. Turn down the heat to medium and sauté garlic and onions until fragrant.  Take care not to burn the garlic and onions.  

3. Add in the pork, vinegar, laurel and peppercorns and boil uncovered.  Turn down heat to low, cover the pan and simmer until pork is fork tender.  You may add in a little water at a time if sauce dries out.  

4. When pork is done turn up heat.  At this point the sauce should have been fully evaporated.  Continue to cook the adobo, mixing continuously, until the pork has rendered off its fat.  Serve hot with rice.

Adobo Recipe – Chicken Pork Adobo with Pineapple

We sometimes call this chicken pork adobo recipe the Hawaiian adobo because of the addition of pineapples.  The pineapples give a combination of sweet and sour taste to this chicken pork adobo dish.  Kids will love this.  This chicken pork adobo recipe has always been a hit with kids in my family. 

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut into adobo serving size

1 kg pork pigue or kasim, cubed

½ cup white vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 small can pineapple tidbidts

Juice of pineapple tidbits

1 tsp sugar

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 laurel leaf

1 tsp whole peppercorns

Procedure:

Combine pork, chicken, vinegar, soy sauce, juice of pineapple, sugar, garlic, laurel leaf, peppercorns in pan.  Boil uncovered.  Cover pan, reduce heat to low and simmer until pork and chicken are fork tender. You may add a little water at a time if sauce dries up.  When chicken and pork are tender, add in pineapple tidbits.     Cook for another 5 minutes covered.  This adobo dish, when done, should have a thick sauce.  You can add a little water during the last 5 minutes of cooking if it dries up.  Serve hot.

Adobo Recipe – Pork Adobo with Green Mangoes

This adobo dish I tried at one of the get-togethers we attended.  This is not your adobo served with green mangoes on the side.  But this is adobo cooked with green mangoes.  Instead of vinegar, the pork adobo is soured by green mangoes which gives it a distinct flavour.  I never thought this was done until I tried it.  The green mangoes makes this adobo dish more sour as the green mango strips become part of the dish itself, unlike when using vinegar, the vinegar evaporates during the cooking process.  It really tastes good.  It’s like eating the adobo with manggang hilaw, this time all incorporated into one dish.  

Ingredients :

1 kg pork kasim or pigue, cubed

1 medium green mango, peeled and sliced into strips

¼ cup soy sauce

½  cup water

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 tsp whole peppercorns

1 laurel leaf

Procedure:

Combine pork,green mango strips, soy sauce, water, garlic, laurel leaf and peppercorns in a pan. Boil uncovered.  Reduce heat to low and cook until pork is fork tender. You may add a little water at a time if sauce dries up.  When pork is done continue cooking until the sauce thickens.  (The green mango will thicken the sauce).   Serve hot.

Adobo Recipe - Chicken Adobo with Chicken Liver

This chicken adobo recipe is another family favourite.  We usually mash half of the chicken liver in the sauce and leave the other half whole.  The mashed chicken liver gives this adobo dish a thick sauce. 

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut into adobo serving size

½ kg chicken liver

½ cup white vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 laurel leaf

1 tsp peppercorns

Procedure:

1. Combine chicken, chicken liver, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, laurel leaf, peppercorns in a pan.  Let boil leaving the cover off.
2. Once boiled, cover and simmer until the chicken is fork tender.  You may add a little water at a time if the sauce becomes dry.
3. Take out half of the chicken liver and mash (you can also osterize this).  Put the mashed chicken liver back into the pan and simmer for  5 minutes or until the liver has been incorporated into the sauce.  Serve hot.  

Adobo Recipe – Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk

We have added a new dimension to this chicken adobo with coconut milk recipe by adding in tanglad or lemongrass.  It makes this chicken adobo dish more fragrant and flavourful and balances off the richness of the coconut milk - a perfect combination.

Ingredients :

1 whole chicken cut into adobo serving size

½ cup white vinegar

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 laurel leaf

½ tsp whole peppercorns

1 cup kakang gata (1^st  extraction of the milk from the coconut)

1 cup coconut milk 2^nd extraction

Tanglad (lemongrass)

2 chilli peppers (siling pangsigang type)

Procedure:

1. Combine chicken, vinegar, garlic, laurel leaf and peppercorns in a pan.  Boil leaving the pan uncovered.
2. After it has boiled, lower heat, cover pan and simmer until chicken is fork tender.  You may add water a little at a time if the dish becomes too dry while simmering. 
3. Add in the 2^nd extraction of the coconut milk together with the tanglad. The tanglad will add a nice flavour to the dish and will make it fragrant. Let simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add in the 1^st extraction of the coconut milk.  Let simmer for 3 minutes.  Add the chilli peppers last and the dish is good to go.  Serve chicken adobo hot.

Adobo Recipes - Ilonggo Pork Adobo

This pork adobo recipe I learned from one of our angels at home. (We call our househelp angels because that is what they are to us- angels who watch over us and take care of us).  Mila is a native of Negros province and is really good at cooking Filipino food. This is another Pinoy adobo recipe in my series that is a hit with my family.  This pork adobo recipe is so good that I am sure you will make this a regular at your dinner table.  A good workout is in order, though, after eating this pork adobo as this will make you eat a lot.  The taste of this pork adobo is enhanced by the rendering of the pork fat in the cooking process.  You can buy a pork cut that is not too fatty to lessen the fat and oil (and cholesterol) content of this dish.   And make sure you have a lot of rice to go with this Pinoy Ilonggo adobo dish.

Ingredients :

1 kg pork pigue or kasim, cubed for adobo
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed
1 onion diced
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
1 laurel leaf
1 tsp oil for sauteing


Procedure:


1.  In a little oil, saute garlic and onions over low heat until fragrant. Take care not to burn.
2.  Add pork cubes. Cover the pan and cook over low heat. Do not leave the dish cooking by itself at this point.  Check on the pork from time to time.  If the oil starts to be extracted from the pork, mix and turn over the pork pieces to make sure you get an even sear on all the sides of the pork cubes. (Take care not to burn as this will leave a bitter taste; keep your flame on low setting).  Then cover again to allow the pork to sear some more.  Do this mixing and turning over repeatedly until most of the pork fat has been rendered and all sides of the pork cube have been seared.
3.  Add in the vinegar, sugar, laurel leaf and peppercorns. Cover pan and let simmer over low heat until pork is fork tender.  If the pork is not yet done and the dish becomes dry add a little water to enable the simmering process to continue.
4.  When the pork is fork tender, turn up the heat and continue to cook the pork, mixing continuously. Last add the soy sauce, mix and cook for a further 2 minutes.   Serve hot with a lot of rice.

Adobo Recipes - Chicken Pork Adobo

Chicken pork adobo is an all- Filipino braised chicken and pork recipe. This is the basic family adobo recipe for chicken or pork adobo or combined chicken pork adobo, the simple, no-frills pinoy recipe for adobo that tastes great.  The secret is here is to marinate the pork and chicken for at least 4 hours. This will allow the flavors to seep into the meat and make your adobo really tasty.  This is Filipino food at its best. 

Ingredients:

1 chicken cut into adobo serving size (you can have this cut "adobo style" in the supermarket)

1 kg pork kasim or pigue, cubed

1/2 cup white vinegar (sukang puti)

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce

1 whole garlic, peeled and mashed

1 laurel leaf

1 tsp whole peppercorns

oil for frying

Procedure:

1.  Marinate the chicken and pork in the adobo marinade mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, laurel leaf and peppercorns.  Marinate this for at least 4 hours (overnight will be perfect).  Do not throw the marinade.
2. Over medium heat, fry the pork pieces in a little oil until seared on all sides. Do not cook fully. This step is done to lock in the juices in the meat.  Do the same with the chicken.
3. After removing the pork and chicken pieces from the pan, remove excess oil, leaving only around 2 tbsp oil in the pan. (The pork and chicken will release some of their oils during the searing process and increase the volume of the oil).
4. Add the marinade into the pan. Let boil without covering the pan.
5. Add the pork and chicken pieces, laurel leaf and water. Cover the pan and over low heat, simmer the chicken pork adobo for 30 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to half.  Serve the chicken pork adobo hot with a lot of rice.

Featuring : 11 Ways to Cook Adobo

I think that of all Filipino foods, the adobo is the most versatile. With 7,100 islands, each of the Philippines' regions has its own version of the adobo.  Every Filipino kitchen has its own adobo recipe and each version is unique on its own.  It is The truly Pinoy dish. Each adobo version that I have tried tastes different, and I have not come across one that is a duplicate of another.   And I've tasted a lot.  This is one of my favorite Filipino foods, and I just cannot resist having a serving of this irresistible dish served in get-togethers or even in Filipino restaurants that we frequent.  It's just amazing how, with so simple basic ingredients as garlic and vinegar, chicken or pork can be transformed into a mouthwatering adobo dish.  Just imagining the garlicky, vinegary taste of the adobo is making me crave for the dish right now.

In honor of this great dish, today I start a mini-series on the different adobo recipes that I have tried.  Here are 11 ways to cook adobo - Chicken Pork Adobo, Ilonggo Pork Adobo, Chicken Adobo with Gata, Chicken Adobo with Chicken Liver, Pork Adobo with Green Mango, Chicken Pork Adobo with Pineapple, Batangas Pork Adobo, Adobong Tagalog, Pork Binagoongan, Pork Adobo with Liver Sauce, Adobo Flakes. Please click on any adobo recipe that you would like to see. These adobo recipes are either our own family adobo recipes or adobo recipes that I have learned from my friends' versions.