Adobo, ang pambansang ulam. Bow!

I'd say Adobo is one of the first dishes I learned to cook. It's a pretty easy recipe to follow and each household would have a different version of it. My mom's is pretty straightforward and on the sweet side. My mother-in-law boils her meat is the sauces, fries them then adds the sauce again. A little bit time consuming but really tasty.

Of course, I've tried both recipes time and again. I thought of adding another version under my arsenal and it is a hit. My version of adobo sa gata. I remember having tried this dish back in college at an Adobo Republic branch along Katips. My version has a little bit more sauce because my family loves sauce so I adjust to make them happy. Cooking, after all is another way to say how much I love them.

Here's my recipe.

1 kg of pork belly (about two inch slices)

1 kg chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks)

1 niyog

1 cup red cane vinegar

1 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 pieces siling haba

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 potatoes

1 kamote (optional)

6 cloves garlic

I used that kamote because it has been in the fridge for weeks. I didn't want it to go to waste. It was my first time to put kamote in adobo and it turned out ok. I put in the pork at the bottom of my pot, then the chicken, garlic, potatoes and kamote. Then I put in the seasonings, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, sugar, oyster sauce then let simmer. I held the salt towards the end to make sure I only put enough since I already have soy and oyster sauce in the mix. After about 20 minutes of simmering, I then put the milk from one mature coconut (niyog) and let the sauce reduce, which would take another 10-15 minutes on high. I throw in the siling haba in there too.

My version of adobo sa gata

The picture does not look as appetizing but my family likes this recipe. I also normally remove the chicken skin to reduce the fat in the dish. This is as easy as your normal adobo. The only "hard part" for me is squeezing the milk out of the shredded coconut meat. If you buy your niyog in the wet market, some could sell you the coconut milk with extra (minimal) cost for the labor. I prefer doing it myself though. You can also buy in the canned coconut milk/cream in the grocery store. But I tell you, it's different if you use the canned lot. Fresh is better.

So what do we do with 2 kgs. worth of ulam? We keep some in the freezer. Ang adobo, habang tumatagal, lalong sumasarap ;) We just pop it in the microwave on days when I don't feel like cooking.

Here you go. Another fast and easy twist to your usual go to dishes. Enjoy!