I am bad in making adobo

@airkulet (2700)
Philippines
August 21, 2012 4:27am CST
as the title says, yes I am bad adobo cook. I did everything my best to balance the salty and sour of vinegar yet it will end up being too salty or too sour. What I did is to boil a little the checken then add seasons except for vinegar and when it boils again I add little vinegar and I will not stir it until it boils again. Please share your technique in making adobo, it is a simple dish yet I am making it worst
11 responses
• United States
22 Aug 12
That sounds like a good dish. I was confused at first because adobo is a type of seasoning here and no one makes it they just buy it at the store so I was wondering why you would make it yourself :/ good luck though, I hope you get it the way you want it :)
1 person likes this
• United States
22 Aug 12
I'm in usa. Adobo is a combination of seasonings with salt sold by the bottle and generally used by spanish/latino or those who know how to make various spanish/latino foods, in my case Puerto Rican and also used with sasson and sofrito depending on the dish. Now almost everyone uses it because it has become so popular so even people who do not make spanish foods use it in place of what they would normally use.
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
22 Aug 12
I thought that adobo exist only in Philippines, I never knew that you can actually buy the mixture in your place. Well its actually a simple if you look at it but balancing it's taste of salty and sourness is so hard to achieved. By the way where is your place?
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
24 Aug 12
oh I see, well I believe that the adobo dish have been brought to the Philippines during the early Spanish conquest, mostly main ingredients of soy sauce and vinegar
@eynjel78 (44)
• Philippines
21 Aug 12
here is how i do mine. hope it helps. boil the chicken/pork in soy sauce, onion, garlic, laurel leaf and pepper with a little water. when the meat is tender, add vinegar. simmer it. in a separate pan, saute garlic and onion. add meat mixture. add a dash of salt and sugar.
1 person likes this
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
22 Aug 12
a very different approach in cooking adobo, does stirring the adobo affect the taste of it
• Philippines
23 Aug 12
i don't think it will. although it may affect the texture most especially when the meat is already very tender.
@berting600 (3453)
• Philippines
21 Aug 12
After you have done it all,your ingredients and the soy sauce and vinegar.You say that you ended up not a good adobo chef.Then try to add some potato so that the taste would become a magic.
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
22 Aug 12
potatoes actually a pricey this days and adding them in my chicken adobo could be pain in the budget, but I will try it next time, thanks
1 person likes this
• Philippines
23 Aug 12
Why does everyone here do not use potato in making an adobo?It is very essential in balancing the taste of your cooking.Do not try to be thrifty when it comes to family use,anyway your family could adore the taste of what you are cooking to achieve the best taste,then make the best out of your knowledge.
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
24 Aug 12
its better to have a dish than nothing at all that's most matter
@ardoy0731 (7308)
• Philippines
21 Aug 12
I rather cook sinigang than adobo. I am having a hard too in balancing the mixture of soya sauce and vinegar that lead to quite not too good adobo taste lol. I am quite good in sinigang but adobo always giving me a hard time. I rather fry it lol.
1 person likes this
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
22 Aug 12
Yes I agree because in sinigang you can actually bought the mixtured
@enelym001 (8322)
• Philippines
21 Aug 12
Even I couldn't perfect that dish. But normally what most people I knew do is combine all the ingredients. Onion, garlic, some would put ginger, chicken, soy sauce and vinegar. Plus put bay leaf and pepper. Let it boil. And if you think the chicken's cooked well then you can try tasting it whether you need to adjust it or not. I am no good at tasting when a food is being cook. So I normally fail on cooking.
1 person likes this
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
22 Aug 12
hahaha even being a mom I was a failure in cooking too but now I need to explore in different dish because my son is starting to get bored with my cooking
@jureathome (5361)
• Philippines
21 Aug 12
I've mastered the art of balancing the taste of vinegar and soy sauce, somehow. I would taste the mixture before I put it on fire, and I add water to neutralize if its either too sour or too salty. And, I love the effect of pepper on it, when I add some for seasoning.
• Philippines
27 Aug 12
I also like the effect when meat is marinated well. It also makes the meat more tender, especially when the meat has been frozen in the fridge for a couple days.
@Raine38 (12391)
• United States
21 Aug 12
This is also how I do mine, but if I have more time before I need to cook, I would marinate first the meat in vinegar, soy sauce, basil leaf and whole peppercorns. Pop it in the fridge for at least an hour, the. Either put it on the fire as it is, or pan sear it first to brown it and let its natural juices come out for added flavor. And like you, just add water to balance out the saltiness or sourness.
@toyota4k (1208)
• Philippines
22 Aug 12
Adobo is my easiest recipe. Just make sure to minimize water and cook thoroughly. It needs a small amount of fat otherwise it doesn't taste delightful and you can add sugar depending on your taste. I love adobo, it pushes a lot of rice down to your stomach...
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
22 Aug 12
how about chicken it doesn't have oil in it should I add a little cooking oil in it
@Bhebelen14 (5194)
• Philippines
21 Aug 12
Hi airkulet, when I am cooking adobo I usually marinate it first with soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and seasoning for 1 hours. But before I put the chicken I used to taste the mixture first to know if it too salty or sour, so that i can just adjust the taste based on my taste. After one hour I saute the onion and garlic stir fry the chicken/pork meat until it change it color and add the mixture with laurel leaves and boil it until cook. Good luck to your adobo.
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
22 Aug 12
my first time to heard saute garlic and onion in the end, thanks will try this technique too
@nupur123 (392)
• Hyderabad, India
13 Sep 12
In order to have balance in food all u need to do is just put little little and then taste the foid . If u feel it require more then put little again . Like this it will never increase
• Philippines
21 Aug 12
hi airkulet! I love adobo! Well, what I do is I saute the chicken in oil, add some garlic and after the chicken is slightly cooked and the garlic golden brown, I put some soy sauce. Let it boil for a while, put a bit of vinegar and when the sauce is quite thick, I put some well grind pepper, chilli powder and a bit liver spread. Happy eating!
@SIMPLYD (90721)
• Philippines
21 Aug 12
Really you put chili powder and a bit of liver spread in your adobo? I think it will really be yummy with liver spread. So, when do you put the liver spread, my friend?
@airkulet (2700)
• Philippines
22 Aug 12
I am just heard about liver spread to put in adobo as well
@ching128 (27)
• Philippines
13 Sep 12
When i cook my adobo, i just put everything together. The meat, water, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, peppercorns and laur leaf. The water should just be enough to cover the meat and the ration of the soy sauce to vinegar is 1:2. I correct the seasonings after the meat is tender. I also put a little sugar and chilli flakes because i want my adobo to be a bit sweeter and spicy. Also thesugar makes the sauce thicker.