An ongoing adobo festival where an adobo cheesecake is on offer makes us wonder what adobo really is

Adobo is one of those Filipino dishes that’s always present in every group gathering at home, at the beach, at the park, and sometimes even in airplanes.

Today, it’s fairly safe to say that adobo has become synonymous to Filipino cuisine.

But at the launch of Holiday Inn & Suites Makati’s “Adobo Nation” food festival, we noticed things like adobo Pâté and Rillette and adobo cheesecake, making us wonder: What really is adobo?

According to chef, restaurateur, and author Nancy Reyes-Lumen, “adobo is not just a dish. It’s not just a recipe. It’s a way of cooking: slow cooking.”

“Adobo has to be boiled over fire, not steamed. So it is a recipe but it is also a cooking technique also (you don’t have to cook it, you can marinate it), it’s a Filipino personality,” she continued, saying adobo is like Filipinos — very easily adaptable to their environment.

“Adobo kasi has a personality and the personality is very Pinoy. You can have all kinds of adobo and the Pinoy is like that. Magaling mag-adapt, maraming versions, but in the end iisa lang ang title: adobo,” said Chef Nancy, of the famous Reyes culinary family, the ones responsible for the timeless Aristocrat Restaurant.

With Chef Nancy are her Chefs Jaja Andal and Jen Seranilla. Together, these three women make up Team Adobo. They travel the country to conduct cooking demos and judge cooking competitions promoting the indisputable goodness that is Filipino food. In their travels, they’ve come across countless variations of adobo.

“Adobo evolves based on the culture and available ingredients… Every region, every place, every family has their version of adobo and they’re very proud of it,” Chef Jaja seconds the Queen’s statement. She also shared that her hometown in Batangas favors a version of adobo using chicken liver and atsuete (annatto seeds) to give the sauce a rich amber color.

When asked to define adobo, Chef Jen echoed the Chef Nancy by listing down key elements that will qualify a certain dish as adobo:

There should always be something sour (any form of vinegar or something acidic), something salty (salt or fish sauce/patis), garlic, laurel (bayleaf), and peppercorn.

Chef Nancy also emphasized the importance of the cooking technique when it comes to making adobo. The meat must be marinated then cooked slowly for a considerable amount of time.

“That also helps preserve the dish,” Chef Nancy points out. “It doesn’t spoil easily and it doesn’t need to be refrigerated. I have never encountered an adobo that went to waste: it’s either eaten up right away or re-made into something else — like adobo flakes.”

At Flavors Restaurant’s Adobo Nation, Chef Nancy is serving her favorite adobo iteration and more: Rodrigo’s Roast, named after a beloved relative. It’s an entire slab of pork belly cooked adobo style then baked with a savory-sweet crispy crust.

Aside from Rodrigo’s Roast, diners can savor classic takes on adobo as well as unique versions like Adobo Pan de Sal (Flavors Restaurant’s bakers are known for their sumptuous breads and pastries), Paella de Adobo (seafood adobo rice with green beans, lemon slices, chilis, and bell peppers), Pianggang Adobo with Palapa (tuba-marinated chicken in burnt coconut adobo sauce, a dish inspired by Mindanaoan cuisine), Crispy Adobong Tadyang (short ribs cooked dry adobo style), Adobo Pâté and Rillette (a French treatment with intense adobo flavors), and the surprising Adobo Cheesecake (cheesecake infused with bay leaves and peppercorns), which tastes like creamy cheesecake but with a pleasant hint of adobo flavor.

“Adobo is such a big part of Filipino cuisine, we want our guests, especially those coming from abroad, to experience it, as well as how it translates to different dishes and not just the classic pork and chicken. We hope they come to love adobo as much as we Filipinos do,” shares Holiday Inn & Suites manager Andy Belmonte. — LA, GMA News

Until the end of October 2019 and will be available for both lunch and dinner. Starts at P1,825 (nett).

Flavors Restaurant, Holiday Inn & Suites Makati, Palm Drive, Ayala Center, Makati City | FB/IG: @holidayinnmakati