Chicken Adobo & Kare-Kare

Sorry, no photos. I cooked these on Sunday for an Easter lunch for friends and neglected to photograph them before they were attacked.

While I still have leftovers, they do not look appealing at all. (Still delicious, though.)

I never ever cooked these dishes before we moved to Boston! I suppose the distance makes them that much more yummy.

I used a mishmash of recipes for these. To make adobo, I used the basic principles outlined in Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. I can almost forgive him for claiming that there are no other dishes from the Philippines worth trying, since he does proclaim Adobo the best chicken dish in the world.

Put these in a bowl: fresh black pepper, bay leaves (2), 1 cup soy sauce, .5 cup vinegar (here I used rice wine vinegar, as per the Dorotans'--of Cendrillon in Manhattan--suggestion), water (MB recommends matching the amt of soy sauce but I use a bit less) & crushed garlic (as much as you like, though MB recommends 3 cloves). Once these are all mixed, put chicken in (3-4 lbs' worth). The Dorotans recommend marinating for at least 3 hours. I try to do 18-24!

To cook: put chicken & sauce in saucepan. Bring to a boil then simmer, uncovered, until chicken is cooked.

Pre-heat the broiler. Put chicken (skin-side up) on baking pan and put on rack (which should be on highest level in oven), for about 5-7 mins.

Try to reduce the sauce until it thickens.

The last two steps aren't necessary but make the adobo that much yummier.

I used this recipe for kare-kare. Isn't that funny? But this is actually friendlier than the Filipino cook-authored recipes I've found, so far. It's easy to follow. I haven't managed to find tripe in my supermarkets but I use broiler-quality meat to add substance. Also, haven't found annatto oil (to make the stew a more presentable red, instead of brown) yet, but it doesn't seem to matter!

(Food very well received, by the way. Even Teo enjoys bagoong!)