The Humble Adobo
In the Philippines, in all its islands, every household has one thing in common: they all know and love adobo.
Adobo is on top when it comes to Filipino cuisine but it is a humble dish: its ingredients are simple, you don't have to possess master chef skills to make it, and it hits just about the right notes in your taste buds.
The ingredients include meat (chicken, pork, or a combination of both), soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, onion, bay leaves, and black pepper.
Since its ingredients are used in preserving food, adobo has a relatively long shelf life. This may be one of the reasons it's very common in the Philippine; because even before electricity and refrigerators existed, adobo can survive days on its own.
In cooking adobo, there is a short process and a long process. The long process is you need to combine the soy sauce, vinegar, sliced onion and garlic, and black pepper and marinate the chicken with it. Then, separate the chicken/pork and keep the marinate mix. Fry both sides of the chicken/pork for about a minute and a half, add back the marinade mix and pour in water for the sauce. When it boils, you can add the bay leaf and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes.
The short process is you can sauté the garlic and onion, add the meat and cook for a minute or two, then aa the soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, with a little amount of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes.
There you have it, the humble adobo in all its simple glory. You can try it in the Philippines or you can simply make it at home.