Happy Being Blue

Passport & Plate - 7-Decade-Perfected Chicken Adobo

Philippines | Thursday, March 13, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Original recipe makes 5 servings

2 ½ pounds of chicken breast (cut into large cubes)
3 large cloves of garlic (chopped)
½ large sweet onion (sliced)
5 bay leaves
¼ cup toyomansi
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon patis (fish sauce)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups water

 

How to prepare this recipe
PREP/CLEANING:

1. Fill a large pot half way up with water. Add cubes of chicken to water. Let boil for 15 minutes or until albumin (white protein) rises to the surface of the water.
2. Carefully separate boiled chicken from the pot and dump the water.
3. Rinse the pot of any residual albumin.
4. Rinse boiled chicken of any residual albumin.


COOKING:

5. Place boiled chicken in pot. Combine with water, toyomansi, apple cider vinegar, garlic, onions, and bay leaves. Cover pot and simmer on medium-low heat for 1 hour.

6. After 1 hour, chicken should be brown and tender. Add fish sauce and olive oil. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for an additional 10 minutes.

Chicken adobo can be enjoyed simply served alone or with rice.

 

The story behind this recipe
This past February, my Lola died. I didn’t grow up with her so I didn’t cry. Mama wept uncontrollably; she was just starting to bond with her mother.
Philippines 1945: Lola was 20 years old, had 3 kids, and was separating from Lolo. Thinking that his social habits and Lola’s youth were not suitable for parenting, Lolo took his children to live with distant relatives in a sparse village 3 hours outside of Tuguegarao. Mama and her brothers grew up with a bevy of cousins under the strict guidance of 2 older women.
I learned how to make chicken adobo last year on Mama’s 70th birthday. As the youngest of 3, I realized that no one knew how to cook her delicious Filipino delicacies. No of us would be able to pass on her recipes. I didn’t want to lose that connection to my family and my Filipino heritage. Also, I wanted bragging rights for being the only one to have Mama’s superhuman cooking skills. We made a plan: late night cooking lesson.
Later, as we started to clean the chicken, I turned to Mama, “Where did you learn how to make chicken adobo?”
“When I was younger, one of the babysitters showed me.” Her slightly accented voice revealed.
As we chopped garlic and sliced onions, Mama shared the tales of her life. How she got the scar on her left hand wrestling a thief over her purse when she first came to the U.S. Why she only liked midnight mass as a child. The way the sun hit Lola’s face the last time she visited Mama before disappearing from her life for years. “I turned away as she got into the car.” Mama said softly. “I didn’t want her to see me cry.”
As my childhood home started to fill with the warm smell of vinegar tenderizing meat, I discovered that this recipe represents 7 decades of life that Mama has lived. Despite having grown up without her mother, she created an unbreakable bond with her children. Although she is my best friend, I had never told her that whenever I leave home, as she waves from the porch, I always turn away so she doesn’t see me cry.