Art making is over for me. It's been over since I started working in museums, to be quite honest. I decided I'm going to pivot back into studying cuisine, and divert a huge portion of my energy back into recipe developing. When Bon Appetit Magazine's Adam Rapoport resigned from his position as editor-in-chief, I was given hope again. White Supremacy tells Black and Brown people that they are inadequate in ways that are both subtle and overt. I have internalized this for such a long time. I lost courage when I was working two full-time restaurant jobs a decade ago, one in a Michelin-starred restaurant and another in a restaurant in Culver City that doesn't exist anymore. It was wild to think that I was simultaneously working for the best kitchen in town and the worst kitchen in town. I was buried in student loan debt (I still am), and so many of my White counterparts were being offered sous chef and chef de cuisine positions while I worked for a shitty line cook from Robuchon who somehow ended up being the chef of Fraiche in Culver city. As you can see in the previous posts, I tried my hands at food blogging three years ago and hit a lot of walls. Simmering deep within me is the frustration from the fact that White men have such a monopoly on cuisine and food writing. When so many BIPOC food writers and chefs made their voices heard about Rapoport's unacceptable actions, my flame was reignited. It's terrible that it took this long and within the protests about police brutality. Yet, it was so inspiring to see everyone speak up. I'm going to add my voice back into the pot, this time with a lot more confidence and conviction.
I was all fired up. I felt so restless last night that I cooked. I began with what I know really well, and it is something that I've eaten my entire life: the Adobo. I won't be going into its history that much as there are probably a lot of articles about it. What I do want to emphasize is that there is no standard recipe for this dish. Each Filipino household have their own way of preparing it. There are plenty of regional variations. And the dish evolves in whichever country it was taken to via immigration.
I made the "classic" adobo. Classic because it's the variation I grew up eating, and it is the variation that most Filipinos are familiar with: soy sauce- and vinegar-based. The project that I've given myself is to cook as many variations using the "classic" recipe as the starting point -- tapping a little bit into regionality, but more focused on new combinations of ingredients based on season and availability.
Really, I think this is a meditation on the adaptive qualities of a culture's recipes, which in turn reflects the resilience of its people. I haven't been this excited about a project in a while. I can't wait to share what I discover with everyone.
Anyway, here's how to fuck it up:
- bone-in, skin on chicken thighs, 4-6 pieces depending on size
- Filipino soy sauce (Silver Swan or Datu Puti), 1/2 cup
- cane vinegar, 3/4 cup
- water, 1/2 cup
- garlic cloves, crushed, 6 each
- yellow onion, sliced, 1/2 of large or 1 medium
- whole black peppercorns, 2 tablespoons
- bay leaves, 5 leaves
- neutral cooking oil, 1 tablespoon
- sea salt, to taste
In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar and garlic together. Add the chicken to the mixture and marinade for 30 minutes.
Once chicken is marinated, remove from the liquid and pat skin dry. Set marinating liquid aside.
Heat oil in a sautoir pan over high heat. Sear the chicken, skin side down, taking care to not overcrowd the pan. Do not move or rotate chicken until the skin is browned.
Once skin is brown, lower the heat and remove the chicken from the pan. Set aside. Drain excess fat from the pan leaving about a couple of tablespoons behind. Add onions and turn heat back up to medium. Saute onions until they are translucent. Make sure to scrape the brown bits that are stuck at the bottom of the pan.
Pour in the marinating liquid and water. Add back the chicken, and then add the black peppercorns and bay leaves. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil then cover and lower heat to medium low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Uncover then reduce liquid by half, about 30 minutes. Season with salt.
No comments:
Post a Comment