the asian half

Having spent the last few weeks eating, drinking and breathing everything Bavarian, it’s time for a break. As much as I embrace the German half of me – the one that loves pork roasts, dumplings, potatoes in almost every form, sausages and the like – the last few weeks have seen not one grain of rice pass my lips. My Asian half has been struggling. Going through withdrawal, as it were. It is definitely time for a change. My German was away for a few days for work, leaving me home alone with a world of possibilities open to me for dinner. Making the decision of what to have was not a hard one. Obviously, rice was involved. With the Filipino side of me practically screaming for attention, it was a no-brainer. I made chicken adobo. And spinach with spring onions. I’m not sure what it is about German food that, in its most basic form, tends to ignore all things green. The last few weeks brought a lot of food on my plate. But it was all brown or yellow. And several shades in between. But not much green.

Chicken adobo is so typically Filipino. There are probably a hundred different ways of preparing this dish, but they all boil down to the same thing. Chicken and/or pork in a garlicky, soy sauce and vinegar marinade. It’s also another one of those recipes with no clear measurements. I can hear my mother’s voice telling me, “a few peppercorns, one bay leaf. Maybe two. Enough soy sauce to cover the base of the pan. Same for the vinegar.”

In our house, there is the full recipe (which I have never cooked) and the easy recipe (which I always cook). My dad’s intolerance for garlic has meant that chicken adobo cooked at home has been sans those fat, pungent cloves. In my kitchen, garlic always has a place in my adobo. For simplicity’s sake and because of what doesn’t typically land in my shopping trolley, I leave out the pork belly. And the liver that’s used to thicken the sauce. I also leave out the stock because it means I end up with far more sauce than I like. And I don’t put it in the oven for browning. Because I usually forget to pre-heat the oven.  But it works. Every time.

I spent half a lifetime eating mama’s chicken adobo before ever learning how to cook it. Since then, I’ve cooked it over and over and over again. I cook it for myself when I need to feel a little closer to home. I cook it for my German when he asks for it – which is, fortunately, often. I cook it for friends, who promptly ask for the recipe. I hand out the recipe like party favours and grin idiotically when friends tell me they’ve had “lala chicken” for dinner. Or that they’ve won over the mother-in-law with it. It’s ridiculously simple for something so tasty. And the best part is that it is a one-pot-wonder. And it is pure genius with rice.

And just like my mother, I always make too much because there is no occasion where a plate of leftover chicken adobo is not a welcome sight. And so it was, with my German away, that I happily ate chicken adobo for dinner, breakfast (yes, breakfast) and lunch. In that order.

Chicken Adobo (easy)

  • Chicken, skinned
  • Soy sauce – light, not dark!
  • Vinegar
  • handful of black peppercorns
  • one or two bay leaves
  • crushed garlic cloves – as many as you like
  • 1 tsp sugar

Again, I’ve never really used measurements, but I usually use 500g chicken and it’s all about the bone here, so use thighs and drumsticks, never breast. Don’t forget to remove the skin. The soy sauce should be light, not dark, otherwise it’ll turn out way saltier than it needs to be. As for the vinegar, for it to be typically Filipino it should be Datu Puti, but I have made this with almost every type of vinegar available, from balsamic to red wine, and it’s always turned out fine. Use what you’ve got.

1  Skin and rinse the chicken pieces and place them in a pot

2  Add bay leaves, crushed garlic, peppercorns and sugar

3  Pour equal amounts of soy sauce and vinegar into the pot, making sure there is enough liquid to cook the chicken in – add stock or water if you like more sauce

4  Bring to the boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to simmer for 20-30min

5  Make sure to turn the chicken pieces over so that they are evenly in the soy sauce-vinegar mixture – you can tell since the sauce colours the chicken pieces dark brown

6  Once the chicken is cooked you can either eat it straightaway over rice, or remove the chicken from the pot, turn the heat up and let the sauce thicken first