Project 30: Simple joys from a one pot wonder

My very first Chicken Pork Adobo dish by beginner cook me

I’ve always thought of myself as a very simple, low maintenance gal. Honestly, all I need to live the ultimate good life is my family, true friends, scrumptious food, travel, good books, a few notebooks, pens, my laptop and a good stable Internet connection. That’s it. No need for a walk-in closet filled with designer clothes, shoes and bags. No need for a car because I prefer and enjoy commuting a LOT. Commuting is a great way to see the world and real people. No need for the latest mobile phone models (A Blackberry, which I already own, so I can BBM with my friends from all over the world is more than enough). I believe that life should be simple because people really don’t need much to live a good life.

With food, I also believe that the simple things are the yummiest. Okay, I think I am saying this because I am a struggling beginner cook and can’t prepare anything complex in our wee kitchen. Obviously, my culinary skills are still quite limited. So I think I am still quite blessed to be Filipino, even if I curse it at times, because Filipinos are experts with one-pot-wonders.

One of my ultimate favorite one-pot-wonder Filipino dish is the Pork Adobo. I’m a person who likes a wide variety of dishes, but I think I can eat this dish every single day for an entire week. After rich holiday food over the past weeks, my palate has been craving for the humble pork adobo.

But I’ve never cooked pork adobo my entire life and I wanted to make it perfect for the Husband! And so I summoned all my beginner cook courage to take on the challenge to make adobo for myself and the husband…

My modified one pot wonder.

I used the recipe of ChichaJo of 80breakfasts, but modified it a bit to my liking. Thanks ChichaJo for sharing the base recipe

Ingredients:

• 500 grams Pork Cubes I personally prefer an all-pork adobo, but you can mix pork with chicken.
• 500 grams Chicken – any part you want!
• 1 cup of vinegar. I used white vinegar, but cane vinegar is preferred.
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 15-20 garlic cloves – skin on or skin off…it doesn’t really matter!
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 2-3 dried bay Leaves

Step-by-step:

• Add all ingredients in a pot. Yes, just drop them all in a pot.
• Let the meat absorb all the flavors for 30-minutes.
• After marinading, put the pot over medium heat and let it simmer for 1-hour. You can watch two episodes of your favorite TV series or read a few chapters of your book of the month or just stalk people over Facebook.
• You have the option of pan frying the meat in some of the oil from the sauce. Don’t forget to add some of the sauce so that the meat can absorb more of the flavor. Oh, and I like pan frying the garlic cloves too Those golden caramelized nubbins pack a punch of flavor!
• Then after pan frying, return the meats into the sauce and simmer for 5 more minutes.
• If you are more health conscious than I am, you can opt skim off the oil. You can throw the oil away OR save it for future use in your sinangag (Filipino garlic fried rice) or adobo pasta.
• Adobo really tastes MUCH BETTER over a period of time, so do try your best to restrain yourself from eating it right after cooking. Adobo is best eaten a day or two after cooking. I wouldn’t share this tip if I weren’t serious about it. So go ahead and see the huge difference!

VOILA! Top over steamed white rice and enjoy! You can eat with a siding of chopped fresh tomatoes and salted eggs / sunny side up eggs.

Isn’t the recipe so simple? Anybody can do it! Try it out and let me know what you think. I got a sweet seal of approval from the husband earlier Happy, happy, simple joys of a housewife!

Delirious about delicious,

Didi

P.S. Check out my other 30 Favorite Foodstuff here:

1. Food Traditions
2. Foodie Fridates
3. Frank Bruni’s Born Round
4. Filipino Breakfast
5. Top Chef TV Show
6. Bananas
7. Strawberries
8. Chili Con Carne
9. Spanish Sardines
10. Mila’s Tokwa’t Baboy 
11. Taho in a cup
12. Pipino Vegetarian Restaurant
13. Arroz ala Cubana
14. Aling Rita’s Isaw stall
15. Milk Tea

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