Passport & Plate - chicken adobo
Philippines | Tuesday, March 4, 2014 | 1 photos
Ingredients
Chicken adobo
1 whole chicken (cut into 16pcs.)
2tsp. Garlic (chopped)
1tbsp. Onion (chopped)
2tbsp. Ginger (peeled, thinly sliced)
1/4 cup soy sauce (coconut soy sauce)
1 cup water
2 tbsp. Brown sugar
1 tsp. Cornstarch
12 pcs. Black peppercorns
15 grams basil (chifonade)
Handful of basil for frying (optional)
1 tsp. Oil
How to prepare this recipe1. Cut chicken into 16 pcs. (Less cooking time and extract more essence)
2. Prepare marinade, chop garlic and onion. Slice ginger thinly
3. Mix water and cornstarch to make slurry.
4. Mix garlic, onion, ginger, peppercorns, sugar, soy sauce , and slurry to make marinade.
5. Marinate chicken for minimun of 20 mins.
6. Saute chicken and add aromatics.
7. Pour in marinade and simmer for 10 minutes covered.
8. In the last minute add basil.
9. Best served with steamed white rice.
The story behind this recipeI grew up wandering in my grandmother's kitchen. She came from China and found her way in the philippines. One of my favorite recipes of my grandmother is her chicken adobo. This dish consist of slowly cooked meat in soy sauce, vinegar and bay leaf. Adobo is recognise as a national dish here in the country. Being the chinese that she is, her take on our traditional adobo is quite unique and interesting at the same time she managed to transform a staple Filipino dish into fusion cuisine by removing the vinegar and bay leaf and replacing them with ginger - the result was nothing short of amazing. This special fusion adobo has been loved by our family, friends, neighbors, and everyone who was fortunate enoigh to have a bite of her special adobo.
She always used the freshest and best ingredients available in the market. On certain days, i would even accompany her to the market to pick our live produce. At an early age, I knew the importance of using the freshest ingredients available to me. Aeeing her butcher her own meat in the kitchen did not scare me but only sparked my interest to learn more about the art of cooking. She was a meticulous cook, using specific kind of ingredients and condiments like soy sauce for a recipe to achieve a certain taste, texture, or even color.
Similar to my grandmother, I put a personal touch to the dishes that i serve. I make sure that everything is perfect and every element of the dish compliments one another. I want everyone to experience food and not juat taste it. My aim is to bring my guest into a gastronomical advebture through their senses -sight, smell, texture, taste. This chicken adobo diah consist of the usual adobo, what sets this diah apart from other adobo is that i used fresh basil that is not normally used in Filipino dish to elevate not only the aroma but also making it more universal not only for the Filipinos but for everyone.
