20250305 ADOBO 6 WAYS FOR DELIVERY

- Adobo around the Philippines!

- We couldn't do this series
without talking about adobo.

If you read Pigafetta's journal...

Hey, guys. Who's Pigafetta? Quick.

A little check here.

- From what I know,
he's a famous songwriter.

(laughs)

Singer-songwriter.

- Pigafetta was basically someone
who documented

Magellan's voyage
in the Philippines

in the early 1500s,
so it's one of the only

written documents that we have
that has a blow-by-blow basis

of how Philippines was
pre-colonization

when the Spanish arrived.

And in there, in food,
there's really not that much,

but what we do know
from the food that is there,

a lot of the times
when the Spanish would arrive,

they'd be presented
with a couple of options.

But they also do talk
a lot about pork

or animals cooked
in their own juices.

So because of our penchant
for sour foods,

because of our penchant
for oily foods,

and because we know
we're primarily a country

that roasts and boils
and steams,

then people kind of say
that could be the original adobo.

So pork cooked in its juices.

So today, that's why
we're doing it,

'cause adobo is very central
to the Philippines,

there's probably that one,
you know, initial recipe

where everything stemmed for
but today,

we have thousands of versions.

So we're each going
to be making our own versions

as traditionally as possible
from the provinces

and regions that they are from.

I'll go first.

I'll start with the most basic
kind of closest

to pre-colonial adobo
that we have,

and everyone else is going
to follow after.

Let's get cooking.

It's always very difficult
to call something pre-colonial

or to call something
the first or the original.

Obviously, food,
just like history,

is kind of fluid,
and it's really tough

to kind of pinpoint something.

The word adobo in itself
and how we call it nowadays

is a "Spanish iteration."

It probably wasn't called that.

Obviously, we had
our own words for it.

So I can't even tell you
what this dish was

"originally called."

So if I can't do that,
I can't tell you

how it was originally cooked.

What we can do is assume.

Just like a lot when it comes
to Filipino culture,

we have to put in
a lot of assumptions

based on the culture
that we have today

to assume what our history was
because of a lack

of written materials
and history in general.

So through that process,
we can kind of say,

in very simple terms,
the original kind of recipe

for an adobo would call
for boar or pork nowadays

in its own juices.

So we have some lard
over here, some salt,

because we've been
a salt-producing nature.

Water, highly available.

Garlic and bay leaves.

Questionable, right?

So garlic, we're not exactly sure
when it came in.

Usually, you'd have
some peppercorns

in here as well.

But as we know,
pepper is not necessarily native

to the Philippines.

And then, bay leaves.

If you have spent some time
in markets in Dumaguete or Cebu,

you will see a bay leaf
that doesn't look like a bay leaf,

but it's still called barrel,

but it is believed
to be a native bay leaf

to the Philippines
and not the bay leaf

that the Spanish brought.

So that's why I'm going
to integrate it today.

But I'm going to try
to keep everything

as traditional
and as authentic as possible.

Using a palayok here,
I'm going to grab my lard

and I'm just gonna spread it
on the bottom here.

When you ask people
around the Philippines

what they know about adobo,
I'm pretty sure 70-80%

of them eat their adobo
with soy sauce,

but that is an integration
that came in only

when the Chinese started trading
with us, right?

So that's why, in general,
I have a very hard time

calling anything authentic
or anything original

because of how Filipino history
kind of unfolded.

That's just how our cuisine is.

So it's very important
that we accept

everyone's kind of point of view
when it comes to the food

and we just respect
each other's way of doing things.

So there's a lot of lard there.

It's going to render out
even more lard

because we're going
to add our pork.

Then we're going
to take our pork pieces,

layer those in kind
of really tightly.

Now up to you
if you want to keep the skin on,

keep it off.

Really your call.

I kind of like that chewy skin,
lots of garlic.

That's a personal preference
of mine.

Make sure that that's
in between the pork as well.

Bay leaves.

Generous rock salt.

Some water.

Not to cover, just halfway
because you will be generating

more liquid as the fat kind
of renders out.

Something that we've
been producing

as long as we've
been producing alcohol,

which is a long time
and definitely pre-colonial—

our vinegar.

This, I believe,
is a nipa palm vinegar.

I highly suggest
when you do make adobo

at home, try out
different vinegars

to figure out what kind
of vinegar you like

in your adobo.

Low heat for 15 minutes.

We're gonna let that vinegar
kind of cook down a little bit

without stirring it.

We're then gonna let that go
for about 10 to 15 minutes,

cover it, let that go
for a further hour, check on it,

if we're happy where it is,
you can eat it then,

or you can go ahead
and cook it down further.

Okay. So now we are
in my test kitchen at home,

and while I was kind
of cooking some recipes,

I realized, hey,
we haven't shown you

what the adobo looks like.

So I have it right here.

As you can see,
it is insane how much fat

was eventually rendered out
of all that pork,

and obviously,
cooking things with lard.

So previously,
I guess in times

before refrigeration,
confiting something

or keeping something
in lard or fat was a way

of preservation,
especially there is some vinegar

in there and some salt.

So you could potentially
keep this outside

as long as it's kind of like
completely covered with fat.

Ours isn't fully kind
of submerged in fat,

which means
if you'd want to do that,

you probably have
to add way more lard

than is warranted
or maybe necessary.

Comes with flavor.

But like this in the fridge
will keep for a long,

long time.

So now we're going
to go ahead and fry it up.

So we went straight
into putting it in the jar,

and we haven't
actually tasted it yet.

And the reason behind that is

this is the type of food
that really just

does so much better
the longer it's kind of kept.

And just keeping it
overnight like that

before actually eating,

it will probably just
really give us such amazing flavor.

Everything here is cooked,
obviously, so all we're asking

to do here is add
a little bit of color

and some crispiness
to the overall dish.

The fat, you can put back
into the jar if you want to,

or you can serve it on rice,

which is the best way
of doing it.

It's crunchy
where it needs to be.

We can taste that fat.

It almost is like collageny
in texture.

And those burnt bits
that kind of just stuck

to the pan, it's like
automatic adobo flakes.

So you made
your pre-colonial adobo

and adobo flakes
at the same time.

That is so good.

And I would not be able
to finish this plate.

It's just...

It's almost too much
in terms of flavor.

That is very heavy
but delicious.

Okay, now let's check out
the next adobo recipe.

- So next, we are going
to be making adobo

in the style of Cebuanos.

So I got this recipe
from Romayne.

This is how Cebuanos
make adobo, but later on,

I'll show you one variation
how Romayne makes it

with her family.

- So adobong Bisaya
is very different

from any other adobos
in the country

because it's dry, it's crisp,
and cooked in its own oil.

Now, disclaimer,
it varies from household

to household
so there's not one

particularly correct recipe
for this.

You have to have pork belly,
salt, garlic, bay leaf,

or bay leaves,
and then a little bit of vinegar.

- So traditionally,
this is how Cebuanos make adobo.

***But today, yun na nga,
it varies from family to family

so we'll add,
according to Romayne's family,

onions and a bit
of spring onions.

- So in a cold pot,
you put all the ingredients in.

- So we will let this marinate
for about a day, or overnight,

then we are going to cook it.

Okay. So it has been
about 15 minutes

and most of our liquid's gone.

Now at this point,
it's not that tender yet.

So what Cebuanos do
is they put water.

- Let the water evaporate.

And then after that,
you let the pork render

its own fat or oil,
so it's going to be like a confit.

So let it cook
until it's golden brown,

and once you get a thin
but crisp skin and fat layer,

that's already good to go.

- Okay. So for today's
taste tester,

we'll call on Chef Martin.

- Hey!

- It's also his birthday.

- Editor, just put some applause
in the background.

- And also confetti.

- I hope you're happy
with my gift.

- It's beautiful!

- The reason why I called you out
because you're the one

who made our previous
Cebu humba.

- You're right.
- Remember that?

***- So matagal na kulo tapos prito.

- Yeah. This is like confit.

- Oh.
- Yeah.

And then...

- We eat it with...?

- I prefer to eat it with this.

- But traditionally?

- It's good on itself.

- I love this.

- How would you differentiate it
with adobong puti?

- Well, with your adobo,
it's very obvious

where the saltiness comes from,

and you can totally feel
the difference

if fish sauce, salt,
or soy sauce was used.

And obviously,
since it's, like, dried out,

it's kind of more salty.

I'm not saying
it's like uncomfortably salty but...

- Like, it's has lots of Maillards.

- Yeah.

- And did you like the touch
of vinegar and onions?

'Cause Cebuanos
have this a lot,

especially in Punko-punko.

So adobo in Cebu, approved?

- Yeah.

I love it.

- I'm going to be making
the Ilonggo take

of the classic adobo
which is adobong pula.

This recipe is from Marj Uy,
my auntie,

who is from San Joaquin, Iloilo.

- This recipe, adobo with atsuete
or adobo na pula,

is a traditional family recipe.

This comes from my grandmother,
who loves to hold

a fiesta even
when it's not fiesta time,

especially during harvest season.

- So for our first stop,
we have to make

the atsuete solution.

We have here exactly
two cups of water

and two tablespoons
of atsuete seeds.

- You need to soak
your atsuete first,

and the atsuete you should use
should be seeds.

This is the best aroma
from the atsuete.

- And on the other hand,
while we are doing

our atsuete solution,
we are going to be boiling

our pork.

- You need to boil it
for about 5 minutes

to remove the impurities.

Fry the pork in the pan
without using any oil.

Just heat the pan.
Place the pork in the pan.

Cook it until it turns golden brown
to release its own fat.

- So from the oil that we got
from the pork,

this is what we're going
to use for the whole recipe.

- For your ingredients
for sautéing,

you'll need garlic, onion, and ginger.

These should be finely chopped.

Then, return the pork
that you browned earlier

back into the pan.

After that, add the 2 cups
of water with the atsuete

you prepared earlier.

Let it simmer and cook.

It should take
about 30 minutes, more or less.

- It's been 30 minutes.
Let's now check our adobong pula.

Ooh!

As you could see,
the water has evaporated.

It's time to add
our coconut vinegar.

- Since this is
a family traditional recipe,

the vinegar should preferably
from tuba.

Don't stir immediately
when you add the vinegar.

Let it sit for about 5 minutes.

That's when you stir
and season it with salt and sugar.

Then, add your crushed
black pepper.

Those are all the main ingredients.
It's very simple.

All the ingredients combined give
the adobo its unique taste.

Why? Because it doesn't rely
on any added taste enhancers.

- It's so fragrant.
I'm so excited to try this,

so I'm going to call on
Seth boy to try it with me.

- I'm so excited.
I really want to try it.

Can I just say that the color
is really appealing?

***Like sobrang nakakatakam siya. Like parang, ay, malasa to. Diba?

I'm going to go in
for a little bone

'cause I kind of like
that juiciness.

Okay. Let's try it.

- Crispy.

- Delicious.

***- Di ko masyado malasahan yung ginger. Di matapang yung ginger. Di rin malakas yung sukang tuba.

- You really get
that caramelized sugar flavor

'cause you kind of let it dry out
a little bit.

It's so delicious.

***Alam mo yung saying na masarap kainin pag nagkakape? Parang ganun yung vibes niya.

- I actually want some rice.

Thank you, Aunt Marj,
for the recipe! I love it.

- Aunt Marj, this one's crazy.
So good.

- Thank you!

- So according to our sources,
adobong Bicolano,

the biggest thing there
is gata (coconut milk).

But it is also seasoned
with fish sauce and not salt,

and they also use sukang tuba,
or coconut vinegar,

for the acid.

- Adobo sa gata is something
that you may consider

as distinctly Bicolano
with the addition

of coconut milk, or gata,
plus siling haba (long pepper).

- So first thing
that we're going to do

is heat up some oil here
in our clay pot.

So before we use this,
always remember,

if you're going to use
food grade clay pot,

you have to soak it
in water overnight

or at least 30 minutes,

just so it doesn't break
when it's in contact with heat.

I'm just going to heat up
some oil.

Hello? Hello? There.

And then, while waiting,
I'll marinate my pork

in some fish sauce.

We will just brown
our pork belly.

Just brown it on all sides
and we can move on

with the recipe.

- Adobong gata has
the same ingredients

as a regular adobo recipe—

pork belly, garlic, chili peppers,
peppercorns, bay leaves.

- And of course,
how can we braise

if there's no water.

Some water.

Then, some sukang tuba,

or coconut vinegar.

So we'll simmer this
for around 30 minutes

until the pork is rendered
and very tender,

and then we'll add
our coconut milk.

This is kakang gata (coconut cream)
but this is fresh,

this didn't come from a can.

***So kakang gata, yun yung unang piga natin sa niyog pag nagrequest tayo.

- And towards the end
of cooking it,

we add liputo, or kakang gata.

Once creamy, the adobong gata
is ready to serve.

- So our adobong Bicolano's done
and geez, it oiled out.

Even the coconut milk.

You could have probably
simmered it less

right after adding
the coconut milk.

I'll have someone taste it
with me today

because I might be biased.