Philippine ''adobo'' (from Spanish ''adobar'': "

marinade Marinating is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origin of the word alludes to the use of brine (''aqua marina'' or sea water) in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavo ...

," "sauce" or "seasoning" / ) is a popular Filipino dish and cooking process in

Philippine cuisine Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Fi ...

that involves

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

, or

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

marinated in

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' As ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

bay leaves The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. It may come from several species of tr ...

, and black peppercorns, which is browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade. It has occasionally been considered the unofficial national dish in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

History

The cooking method for the Philippine ''adobo'' is indigenous to the

. The various precolonial peoples of the country often cooked or prepared their food with

and salt to preserve them in the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

climate. Vinegar, in particular, is one of the most important ingredients in Filipino cuisine, with the main traditional types being

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are ...

nipa palm ''Nypa fruticans'', commonly known as the nipa palm (or simply nipa, from ms, nipah) or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm considered adap ...

, and kaong palm. These are all of which are linked to traditional

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

There are four main traditional cooking methods using vinegar in the Philippines: '' kiniláw'' (raw seafood in vinegar and spices), '' paksíw'' (a broth of meat with vinegar and spices), '' sangkutsá'' (pre-cooked braising of meat in vinegar and spices), and finally ''adobo'' (a stew of vinegar, garlic, salt/soy sauce, and other spices). It is believed that ''paksíw'', ''sangkutsá'', and ''adobo'' are all derivations of ''kiniláw''. They are also related to cooking techniques like '' sinigáng'' and '' pinangát na isdâ'' that also have a sour broth, albeit using fruits like

calamansi Calamansi (''Citrus'' × ''microcarpa''), also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is an economically important citrus hybrid predominantly cultivated in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, ...

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabacea ...

, unripe

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

es, bilimbi, santól, and

star fruit Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of ''Averrhoa carambola'', a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The mildly poisonous fruit is commonly consumed in parts of Brazil, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the South Pa ...

as souring agents instead of vinegar. When the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

colonized the

in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, they encountered the ''adobo'' cooking process. It was first recorded in the 1613 dictionary ''

Vocabulario de la lengua tagala ''Vocabulario de la lengua tagala'' () was the first dictionary of the Tagalog language in the Philippines, It was written by the Franciscan friar Pedro de San Buena Ventura and published in Pila, Laguna in 1613. Juan de Plasencia had written a ...

'' compiled by the Spanish

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

missionary Pedro de San Buenaventura. He referred to it as ''adobo de los naturales'' ("'' adobo'' of the native eoples). The Spanish also applied the term ''adobo'' to any native dish that was marinated before consumption. In the 1794 edition of the ''Vocabulario'', it was applied to ''quilauìn'' ('' kinilaw'') a related but different dish which also primarily uses vinegar. In the 1711 Visayan dictionary ''Vocabulario de la lengua Bisaya'', the term ''guinamus'' (verb form: ''gamus'') was used to refer to any kind of marinades (''adobo''), from fish to pork. Other terms for precolonial ''adobo''-like dishes among the Visayan peoples are ''dayok'' and ''danglusi''. In modern Visayan, '' guinamós'' and '' dayok'' refer to separate dishes. Dishes prepared with vinegar, garlic, salt (later soy sauce), and other spices eventually came to be known solely as ''adobo'', with the original term for the dish now lost to history.

Description

While the ''adobo'' dish and cooking process in Filipino cuisine and the general description of '' adobo'' in

Spanish cuisine Spanish cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from Spain. Olive oil (of which Spain is the world's largest producer) is heavily used in Spanish cuisine. It forms the base of many vegetable sauces (known in Spanish as ''sofrit ...

share similar characteristics, they refer to different things with different cultural roots. Unlike the Spanish and Latin American ''adobo'', the main ingredients of Philippine ''adobo'' are ingredients native to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, namely vinegar (made from palm sap or

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

(originally salt), black peppercorns, and

(traditionally ''

Cinnamomum tamala ''Cinnamomum tamala'', Indian bay leaf'','' also known as tejpat'', ''tejapatta'','' Malabar leaf, Indian bark, Indian cassia, or malabathrum, is a tree in the family Lauraceae that is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. It c ...

'' and related species; but in modern times, usually ''

Laurus nobilis ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...

''). It does not traditionally use chilis,

paprika Paprika ( US , ; UK , ) is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from '' Capsicum annuum'' varietals in the Longum group, which also includes chili peppers, but the peppers used for paprika tend to be milder ...

oregano Oregano (, ; ''Origanum vulgare'') is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It was native to the Mediterranean region, but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Oregano is a woody perennial ...

, or

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es. Its only similarity to Spanish and Latin American ''adobo'' is the primary use of vinegar and garlic. Philippine ''adobo'' has a characteristically salty and sour, and often sweet, taste, in contrast to Spanish and Mexican ''adobos'' which are spicier or infused with oregano. Pork adobo with shallots

While the Philippine ''adobo'' can be considered ''adobo'' in the Spanish sense—a marinated dish—the Philippine usage is much more specific to a cooking process (rather than a specific recipe) and is not restricted to meat. Typically,

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

, or a combination of both, is slowly cooked in

, crushed

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

corns, and

. It is served with white

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

.Alan Davidson & Tom Jaine. (2006)
''The Oxford Companion to Food''
New York: Oxford University Press. p
5
.Sifton, Sam. (January 5, 2011)

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved January 7, 2011 It was traditionally cooked in small clay pots ('' palayok'' or ''kulon''); but today, metal pots or woks (''kawali'') are largely used instead. There are numerous variants of the ''adobo'' recipe in the Philippines. The most basic ingredient of ''adobo'' is vinegar, which is usually coconut vinegar,

rice vinegar Rice vinegar is a vinegar made from fermented rice in East Asia (China, Japan and Korea), as well as in Vietnam in Southeast Asia. It is used as a seasoning, dressing, and dipping in many dishes, including sushi, jiaozi, and banchans. Some of i ...

, or cane vinegar (although sometimes

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...

cider vinegar Apple cider vinegar, or cider vinegar, is a vinegar made from fermented apple juice, and used in salad dressings, marinades, vinaigrettes, food preservatives, and chutneys. It is made by crushing apples, then squeezing out the juice. Bacteria ...

can also be used). Almost every ingredient can be changed according to personal preference. Even people in the same household can cook ''adobo'' in significantly different ways. A rarer version without soy sauce is known as ''adobong puti'' ("white ''adobo''"), which uses salt instead, to contrast it with ''adobong itim'' ("black adobo"), the more prevalent versions with soy sauce. ''Adobong puti'' is often regarded as the closest to the original version of the prehispanic ''adobo''. It is similar to another dish known as '' pinatisan'', where ''patis'' (fish sauce) is used instead of vinegar. Adobong sitaw (green beans and pork) - Philippines 02

Adobong sitaw (green beans and pork) - Philippines 02

''Adobong dilaw'' ("yellow adobo"), which uses ''kalawag'' (

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...

) to provide the yellow colouring as well as adding in a different flavour, can be found in

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and L ...

, the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...

, and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

regions. The proportion of ingredients like soy sauce, bay leaves, garlic, or black pepper can vary. The amount and thickness of the sauce also varies as some like their adobo dry while some like it saucy. Other ingredients can sometimes be used; like '' siling labuyo'',

bird's eye chili Bird's eye chili or Thai chili (Thai: ''prik ki nu'', พริกขี้หนู, literally "mouse dung chili" owing to its shape) is a chili pepper, a variety from the species ''Capsicum annuum'' native to Mexico. Cultivated across Southea ...

, jalapeño pepper, red bell pepper,

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

es, or

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

. It may also be further browned in the oven, pan-fried, deep-fried, or even grilled to get crisped edges. ''Adobo'' has been called the quintessential Philippine stew, served with rice both at daily meals and at feasts. It is commonly packed for Filipino

mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...

and travelers because it keeps well without refrigeration. Its relatively long shelf-life is due to one of its primary ingredients,

, which inhibits the growth of

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

Variations

Based on the main ingredients, the most common ''adobo'' types are ''adobong manók'', in which chicken is used, and ''adobong baboy'', in which pork is used. ''Adobong baka'' (

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

), along with ''adobong manók'' (

), is more popular among Muslim Filipinos in accordance with

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with '' haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification k ...

dietary laws. Other meats may also be used, such as ''pugò'' (

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

), ''itik'' (duck), and ''kambíng'' (goat). There are also seafood variants which can include fish (''isdâ''),

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

(''hitò''),

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are ref ...

(''hipon''), and

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fittin ...

cuttlefish Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...

(''pusít''). The method may also be used for

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the edible flower, flowers, ...

s and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

s, like water spinach (''kangkóng''), bamboo shoots (''labóng''),

eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mo ...

(''talóng''), banana flowers (''pusô ng saging''), and

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

(''okra''). More exotic versions include ''adobong sawâ'' (

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...

), ''adobong palakâ'' (

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

), Kapampangan ''adobung kamaru'' ( mole cricket), and the ''adobong atáy at balúnbalunan'' ( chicken liver and

gizzard The gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ found in the digestive tract of some animals, including archosaurs (pterosaurs, crocodiles, alligators, dinosaurs, birds), earthworms, some gastropods, so ...

). There are also regional variations. In Bicol of southeast

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

and

Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (Chavacano and es, Ciudad de Zamboanga, Tausūg: ''Dāira sin Sambuangan'', fil, Lungsod ng Zamboanga, ceb, Dakbayan sa Zamboanga), is a city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of the Philipp ...

in west

, for example, it is common for ''adobo'' to have coconut milk (known as ''adobo Ginataan, sa gatâ''). In Cavite province, Cavite, mashed Liver (food), pork liver is added. In Laguna (province), Laguna,

is added, giving the dish a distinct, yellowish color (known as ''adobong diláw'', "yellow adobo"). In the northernmost province of Batanes, the Ivatan people, Ivatan prepare a type of ''adobo'' called ''luñiz'', where they preserve pork in jars with salt. In

, adobo is cooked with ''achuete'' seeds, giving it a reddish color. ''Adobo'' has also become a favorite of Filipino-based fusion cuisine, with avant-garde cooks coming up with variants such as "Japanese-style" pork adobo. File:Filipino Chicken Adobo.JPG, ''Adoring manók'' (chicken) over rice File:Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk.jpg, ''Adobo sa gatâ'' (with coconut milk) File:Pork adobo.jpg, ''Adobong baboy'' (pork) with

File:Adobong talong or Eggplant adobo (Philippines).jpg, ''Adobong talóng''
(eggplant) File:Fely J's Fried Crickets (Adobong Kamaru).jpg, ''Adobung kamaru''
( mole crickets) File:Adobong kangkong (Philippines).jpg, ''Adobong kangkóng''
(water spinach) File:Adobong hipon (Shrimp adobo, Philippines).jpg, ''Adobong hipon'' (shrimp) File:Adobong pusit (squid adobo) - Philippines.jpg, ''Adobong pusít'' (squid) File:Vegetarian Filipino Adobo.jpg, Vegetarian ''adobo''

Other uses

Outside of the dish itself, the flavor of ''adobo'' has been developed commercially and adapted to other foods. A number of local Philippine snack products such as Cornick (food), cornicks, Nut (fruit), nuts, chips, noodle soups, and corn crackers, market their items as "adobo flavored".

In popular culture

In 2021, the Bureau of Philippine Standards of the Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-BPS) of the Philippines unveiled plans to standardize the most popular Filipino cuisine, Filipino dishes to make it easier to promote them internationally as well as keep their cultural identity. Philippine adobo will be the first of such dishes to be standardized. The definition will be set by a technical committee headed by Glenda Rosales Barreto, and includes representatives from the academia, government departments, the food industry, chefs, and food writers. The main reference will be ''Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine'' (2008), authored by Barreto and the committee vice-chairperson Myrna Segismundo, both notable chefs of Filipino cuisine in their own right. The announcement has received some criticism from the public, but the DTI-BPS clarified that it's not mandatory and will only aim to define a basic traditional recipe that can serve as a benchmark for determining the authenticity of Filipino dishes in the international setting.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adobo (Filipino Cuisine) Philippine cuisine National dishes