Tips and tricks at Adobolympics 2012

When it comes to Filipino cuisine, adobo is an international superstar. Known for its complex flavor, there are many ways of cooking this popular dish. As an article in the New York Times said, there are as many recipes for adobo as there are Philippine islands.

 

"It is the national dish, many Filipinos say: protein braised in vinegar until pungent and rich, sweet and sour and salty at once, sometimes crisped at the edges in high heat, always served with the remaining sauce. Its excellence derives from the balance of its flavors, in the alchemy of the process," Sam Sifton wrote in the New York Times in 2011. 

 

People may argue about the best way to cook adobo, but almost everyone will agree that adobo is comfort food. "It's home cooking at its best. All the good feelings... it comes back," said Chef Rey Lim, one of the judges at the Adobolympics 2012 held on October 7 at the Legaspi Sunday Market in Makati.

 

"Adobo is very much a part of the Filipino way of life," said the adobo queen Nancy Reyes Lumen.

 

Lumen explained that adobo is not something Filipinos inherited from the Spaniards or the Mexicans. "Adobo as the recipe is Filipino, adobado as the cooking term is colonial," said Lumen, adding that Filipinos innovated, using coconut vinegar and soy sauce that the Chinese brought to the Philippines. 

The many ways to cook adobo  

Many Filipinos experiment to come up with their own adobo recipes, such as those featured in Adobolympics 2012, which was held at the Legaspi Sunday Market, a popular organic bazaar in an office parking lot, on October 7. 

 

Teams from culinary schools, professional chefs, and aspiring chefs joined the on-the-spot cooking competition, which was first held in 2011. The teams showcased different versions of adobo, using "secret protein" meat provided on the day itself, and side dish ingredients fresh from the market. The teams were given a few hours to complete their dishes, which were judged based on presentation (15 percent), palatability and flavor (50 percent), cleanliness and food handling (15 percent), and originality and creativity (20 percent).

 

Weekend shoppers stopped to watch the teams, who used different ingredients and cooking techniques to come up with their own versions of adobo. A team of teenagers called Lost Boys prepared a recipe "on the futuristic side," while husband and wife team Triple X prepared a fusion recipe. The all-female group Ang Tatlong May Toyo used a palayok, while team Monster Burger used a pressure cooker. 

 

This year's winner was Taqueria El Rey with a cash prize of P20,000, followed by Ang Tatlong May Toyo with P10,000. Meanwhile, Triple X won P5,000 for the Tita Cely Kalaw Award (People's Choice), with the most votes from volunteer judges at the market.                                       

 

For volunteer judge Isi Laureano, Taqueria El Rey had the best recipe because it kept the traditional way of cooking adobo.

 

"It's really adobo – the Filipino way. I chose team number 6 because it's just the traditional one. Home cooked, hindi ‘yung mga fusion-fusion. Siyempre hindi mo na malasahan ‘yung iba compared to really eating just adobo," she said.

Adobo with wine, beer, guacamole  

According to Lumen, no matter what the recipe, the basic adobo character should not be lost. "There should always be an acid. I'm sure the judges will look for the acid ingredient because you cook and you cure the meat with an acid. The reason why adobo is popular is because you don't need to refrigerate adobo," she said.

 

Some teams used wine, while others used beer. One team came up with adobo dressing for a salad, while another had adobo flakes. There was adobo served with guacamole, adobo in maki, and adobo in a rice crater. 

 

Former Malacañang chef Babes Austria stressed that while presentation matters, taste is the most important thing. Austria shared some of her tips for cooking adobo, such as never marinating in aluminum, because acid, whether lemon, calamansi, or vinegar, will cause tanning. "When you are marinating, do not use a stainless bowl. Use plastic containers or ceramic chinaware. It's better and good for your health," she said.

 

According to Austria, it is not good to remove the fat before cooking. "Cook it with the taba, then after it cooks, take it out but don't remove it prior to cooking especially when you're under time pressure. For those who are health conscious, have it simmer, put it in your fridge. Mangingibabaw ang taba diyan, take it out," she said.

 

Austria also warned against using the pressure cooker, because this affects the meat's flavor. "When you eat the meat, yes it's tender, but it's like bubblegum. The first bite you have the sugar; more bites then you have nothing at all, and then you throw it away," she said.

 

Meanwhile, Chef Rey's advice was to enjoy cooking, and go with the flow. "If you put your heart into it, something in any shape or form, it's going to show," he said. –KG/HS, GMA News