Ado about Adobo

I think Adobo is the all-time favorite Filipino dish. If not for the easy-to-make, almost-non-perishable viand, my life as a womom would be more complicated.
If there’s nothing else but chicken and I couldn’t convince myself to walk some hundred yards to the nearest friendly mini-market, then staple soy sauce, vinegar, onion and garlic plus sugar, salt, pepper and laurel would be my reliable allies. For the other womom’s out there, I’m sharing with you my fool-proof Adobo recipe. I can’t promise that it’s the best but I can assure you that in 15 to 20 minutes, it can ease the pain of a growling stomach.

Step 1
In a saucepan, combine:
2 ladles soy sauce
2 ladles vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 bay leaf (laurel)
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ kilo chicken

Bring to a boil. Once the chicken is half-cooked, remove it from the saucepan and set the mixture aside.

Step 2
Put some oil into a skillet or pan and saute
Garlic and onion (as much as you want). Once these are wilted, put in the half-cooked chicken. Pour in a portion of the mixture.

For a dry adobo, pour in just half of the mixture. Under a low fire, let the chicken absorb all the mixture until it gets a little caramelized.

For a saucy adobo, pour in ¾ of the mixture. Under a low fire, bring it into a boil until the chicken is well done.

Kain na!