My Own Version of Adobo

Last Sunday, my wife and I visited our long time friend Judith May to catch up for the lost time. We haven't see this kindhearted Filipina lady for years because she went back home to the Philippines. We really missed her and most specially her yummy Adobo.

Adobo, if you are not familiar with it, is a common Filipino dish. It has the perfect combination of sweet, sour and salty taste and it is mostly made with pork or chicken meat. I first encountered Adobo when Judith May visited us Christmas of 2008 and since then my wife and I, as well as my two kids get hooked with this simple yet sumptuous food. Since that day I tried hard to recreate my friend's Adobo but to know avail. Perhaps its may manly pride that pushed me to slave for hours on the kitchen to perfect the dish than to just asked Judith for the recipe. And that is not a good things to do, believe me. ;-)

However, when my wife told me Judith is back here in Illinois, I wasted no time. The very moment we entered her home last Sunday, I gathered all my courage, take a deep breath and said, "Uhmm Judith can you teach us how to cook Adobo?" And when she said yes I grasped her arm and drag her and my wife in her kitchen. Haha, at last. So she show us how to cook Adobo and teach us some tricks to make it more aromatic and inviting.

That night we left our friends home really happy and excited; not only because our friend is here form good but because we finally knew how to cook Adobo. We even stop by a grocery store to buy some stuffs. My wife and I decided to make Chicken-Pork Adobo. So we buy some chicken and pork meat, few pieces of potatoes and the peanut lover in me urged me to tuck a bottle of organic peanut butter and do some experiment.

When we got back home, my wife and I marinated the meat in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, onion and garlic. Then we went to bed smiling...

I woke up early the next day. I want to be the first one to try to cook Judith May's Adobo recipe and I want to give it a little twist. I want to add some peanut butter to it... I know, I may sound like a mad scientist but hey I want it to be my own version of Adobo...

Here's what I did:

1. First I cook pork and chicken meat with its marinate. I let it simmer until all the juices have dried out and the meat fat started to ooze out.
2. I sauteed the meat into its own fat until golden brown. Then I add more onions and garlic and 2 cups of water.
3. Again, I let it simmer until only half of the water are left.
4. Then I add some peanut butter, brown sugar, bay leaf, pepper and cube potatoes.
5. I let the Adobo simmer until the potatoes are fork tender.

By the time my own version of Chicken Pork Adobo was cooked my wife popped out from our bedroom. She is somewhat sulking but when she taste my Adobo her face and her mood lighten up. She told me my Adobo taste good. I am a bit skeptical when she said that, I thought shejust fooling around. However when my kids tasted my Adobo and smile and eat almost a full bowl of rice, I knew that my Adobo really is good...

If you want to try my own version of Chicken Pork Adobo here are the ingredients I used:

• 500 grams lean pork (cubed)
• 500 grams chicken drumsticks
• 1 head garlic (crushed), 1 medium onion (chop) , 3/4 cup vinegar, 1 cup soy sauce ( for marinating)
• 2 bay leaf
• 2 potatoes (cubed)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
• freshly cracked pepper
• deep fried garlic and spring onions for garnishing (optional)

Once you tried my recipe I will appreciate it if you can tell me your thoughts. Does my version really taste good or are my kids and my wife only kidding around...

Thank you and hope to hear from you!