There we were on a lazy Friday night grabbing couples at our favorite watering hole in Rockwell when E, a terribly geeky, funny, and witty new friend of ours, suddenly asked if we know how to cook. He was the only guy in the group and as it turned out, knows more about the kitchen and cooking than the three of us supposedly independent women combined.
When asked to name at least one specialty of his, he answered "adow-bow" in this really cute and endearing way. We didn't let the "adow-bow" pass but when he started describing the different ways he cooks the dish in this seriously vivid and passionate manner, it was as if we could taste every little alluring flavor in our, by then, seduced and hypnotized palates. We had to make him promise to give us a sample of his mouthwatering "adow-bow" the next time we meet.
A few days after, a friend who worked in another country mentioned there are two must-haves for our Filipino expats - a magic sing and adobo, to assuage homesickness.
Which got me thinking, is the adobo our national food? I totally love adobo! I can never have enough of it and I know many Filipinos share the same sentiment. Even foreigners love adobo, for that matter.
So, I started googling adobo. I suddenly had the urge to know more about this perennial Filipino favorite - its history, the variants from different places and regions, and a really easy recipe I can try.
I came across interesting and informative essays and features on adobo and probably, a thousand and one recipes. But apparently, it's not the ultimate national dish as stated by historian Ambeth Ocampo based on a revolutionary essay by noted food critic, Doreen Fernandez. (click here to read)
Still, it doesn't discount the fact that the adobo is one of the all-time favorite Filipino food. Probably every region, province, city, and town has their own version of the adobo. It's not unlikely for friends who come from different places to compare their hometown's respective versions of the dish - from brown, soy sauce-laden adobo to one prepared with coconut milk topped with chili or even adobo cooked in sugar. The list goes on and on. Even other races and nationalities have noticed our archipelago's incomparable love affair with the globally famous adobo. (click here to read one sample) So popular has the adobo become that there are now a multitude of adobo-flavored food products - from nuts to chips to crackers and what have you.
In the meantime, I'm ditching all the "easy" recipes I got from the Internet. I'm just going to call Mama later and ask for her simple, no fuss recipe (the rich, brown adobo I've always loved). It's still the best tasting adobo in my book. If I get my adobo to taste half like Mama's, then I'll be one proud Pinay who knows how to at least whip up a decent adobo. Even if it's the only dish I get to master in this lifetime.
So, let the adow-bow project commence! ;)
