Erwan Heussaff's version of Adobong Puti
MANILA, Philippines – There are different types of Adobo that can be found in the Philippines. Although it is often considered as the country’s national dish, no single recipe can truly define Philippine Adobo.
This is because each region, even province, in the country has its own version of Adobo. There’s regular Adobo that is cooked in vinegar and soy sauce; Adobo sa Pula that is cooked in achuete (annatto) and patis (fish sauce) in place of soy sauce; Adobo sa Gata, which includes coconut milk; and Adobo sa Puti or Adobong Puti, which is cooked in vinegar, salt and spices but with no soy sauce.
A simple yet complex dish, Adobo is also very versatile, especially since you can use many different types of protein to make different variations of the dish, including chicken, pork, a combination of the two, chicken feet, bangus (milkfish), atay at balun-balunan (chicken liver and gizzard), even lamb. Nowadays, you can also make Adobo Flakes by shredding leftover Adobo and frying it till crisp to make a great breakfast with fried egg and sinangag (garlic rice).
In a cooking demonstration organized by The Maya Kitchen and FEATR, which is a food storytelling platform that documents Filipino culinary traditions and regional ingredients, FEATR founder Erwan Heussaff made his version of Adobong Puti and showed the audience just how easy it is to make.
Adobong Puti
Ingredients:
2 kgs. pork belly
2 heads garlic, smashed
3 pcs. laurel Visayas
1 pc. star anise
1 tsp. toasted whole black peppercorns
1 liter sukang Paombong (vinegar from Paombong)
2 tbsps. salt
Procedure:
1. Sauté pork belly from a cold pan, rendering out as much fat as you can before adding garlic, laurel, star anise, and peppercorns.
2. Continue mixing until aromatic. Then add vinegar and simmer until acidity is cooked out or until desired ?avor is achieved.
3. Adjust seasoning with salt.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
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