Adobo Lover

Cooking Adobo

I used to cook for a living.  It has been the family’s tradition for generation. People love adobo.  In our small eatery, adobo is an all-time favorite and our best seller – better than chopsuey, kaldereta, inihaw, paksiw, pinakbet, nilaga, or even sinigang.  Even at home, I prefer adobo over whatever my mom has to offer us.   Come to think of it, adobo is the only dish she knows how to cook and cook very well. I love the smell of adobo in the morning.  The perfect concoction of vinegar and soy sauce, with a pinch of black pepper, and of course, plenty of bawang makes me jump out of my bed for that delightful taste of adobo.  Even adobo left.  I even prefer adobo left over in the fridge better.  It becomes even tastier as days pass by.  Cooking adobo is fun and easy.  Anyway you can.  Just put the right amount of ingredients and that is it! Adobo!  But for me, I am trying to make perfect adobo.  Sometimes, cooking adobo can be very tricky.  You have to pick the best ingredient for it to have that aroma that can make one jump out of bed and go straight to the kitchen. There 101 ways how to cook adobo.  Some wants it overflowing with sabaw or soup.  Others want it oily and dry.  Me, I just want it a little bit sour, a little bit salty, and a little bit spicy! Timing is everything in cooking.  Whether is it adobong Tagalog, adobong Visaya, or adobong Ilokano? Whether its adobong baboy (pork stew), adobong manok (chicken stew), adobong kambing (goat stew) adobong aso (dog stew) or adobong palaka (frog stew).  Of course, you also have adobong kangkong, sitaw (string beans stew), if you wish. The first thing I learned about adobo is make sure the vinegar is cooked well.  Uncooked vinegar smells awful and tastes bad.  And my secret in cooking is simple.  When you don’t like to cook or you are not in the mood.  Don’t.  Especially adobo! Today, I still cook adobo.  And yes, still for a living.  But I cook in a different kitchen now.  Not at home and neither at the eatery’s.  I even teach some of my friends how to cook adobo and make people love it – the adobo and the cooking. Oh yes, I sill love the smell of adobo in the morning.  Hangovers in the morning, a cup of coffee and a serving of my favorite putahe make my day.  Sometimes, I don’t need to cook to have it for breakfast.  I open the television set and everything tastes like adobo. Come to think of it, politics and adobo are very much the same.  Sometimes, I crave for it.  But sometimes, the awful smell of a bad cooking makes me, oh well… I hope to talk more about adobo through this blog.  Thanks for giving me the opportunity.  And thanks for coming up with this blog. For the meantime, let me eat my adobo left over from the fridge.     Jonathan L. Mayuga Adobo Lover I strive to be perfect in spirit, unyielding in soul and humble in triumph... links: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/ http://lastwind.blogspot.com http://www.youtube.com/ueke88