PORK ADOBO

I grew up enjoying this version of Adobo. This Adobo is different from other versions. Not your usual adobo cooked with soy sauce or toyo, but instead, patis was used, hence a paler version of it. Aside from the fish sauce, the other secret to this version is how it is cooked. Usually, we just simmer it until the meat is tender. But the big difference here is that after simmering, we SANGKUTSA it! Sangkutsa as my Mom told me is the process of drying the sauce as you stir-fry slowly on low fire to extract the oil and using it to fry the meat with. All the flavours come out of this process and this adds colour and a fuller and bolder flavour to the dish as you are frying it as it turns golden brown. It is the ideal result we are trying to achieve with ‘sangkutsa’. But some do it the short cut way and forgo it and uses toyo instead to put colour and flavor. In some regions, they call it, ”Sinangkutsang Adobo” for obvious reasons and uses annatto seeds to further add colour.

Like other dishes, it tastes better and better every time it is reheated. The sauce seeps into the meat so it is more flavorful! Sinangag cooked on the same pan it was reheated enhances eating experience. Drizzle your fried rice with the remaining adobo oil, pat it with patis and you’re good to go on a psychedelic adobo-sinangag trip! Be sure to have a good cup of coffee or tea afterwards. This is really a different version of the unofficial beloved national ulam! Good for breakfast, lunch, merienda (with kaning lamig) or dinner. But if on a diet, don’t serve this as you will not be able to control the urge for second, third or fourth servings of rice!

I remember my Tito Tony cooks this for pulutan. Although the dry version. He lets the sauce dry up and just fry it. Adobong Tuyo as it is called. When it comes to Adobo, he is an expert. Rheeza can attest to that as he sampled his version when we were living in Sta. Maria. My Mom taught me how to cook this. The first time I attempted this, I called her over the phone and told me step by step how it is done. She pointed out not to forget to SANGKUTSA. I had several attempts before having it done the way she cooks it.

I once read on an article written by Marie Pascual on the recipe of " Sinangkutsang Adobo, "While adobo is common and actually simple to prepare (no more than 5 ingredients), I boldly claim it's in the technique: not the chef kind but the family secret kind that's passed on from genertion to the next. Never written, just told in passing during stove top conversations." 

And with that, extra rice please!

Sawsawan:

Patis na may sili

Asin

Ingredients:

1 kg Pork Liempo (cut into large cubes)

½ kg Pork Kasim (cut into large cubes)

½ kg Pork Liver (cut into large cubes)

2 cups vinegar

1 cup patis

1 cup water

¼ cup cooking oil

3 bulbs garlic (crushed. You can include the skin for more added flavour)

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp whole black pepper

Procedure:

1.       Combine all ingredients in a cooking pan.

2.       Simmer to boil. Do not stir until the vinegar is cooked. (“Kitchen legends” tells that it will taste bitter if stirred when the vinegar is not yet cooked. At least 3 minutes boiling. “Better safe than bitter!”)

3.       Stir occasionally.

4.       Put in low fire and simmer until the sauce thickens. Remove the thickened sauce and put in a container and save for later.

 

5.       Sangkutsa time. Cook until the oil of the meat appears.

6.       Fry using the oil from the meat. Add cooking oil; continue frying until the meat is golden brown.

7.       When the meat is golden brown, put the sauce back. This will deglaze the sauce, meat and garlic that were caramelized on the pan. All the flavours are concentrated on it and it will be mixed back to the sauce. This makes the Adobo “sinfully delicious”.

8.       Cook until the sauce thickens and become oily. When done, remove from heat and serve with hot steaming rice! (Although it is better with ‘bahaw’ or ‘kaning lamig”.)

9.       Fry some garlic as toppings. Include the skin.

10.    Enjoy!