If you're wondering what my process is like, I, first, conceptualize, cook and taste the recipes in my head. I write the ingredients down and then decide on the ratios and quantities. This takes about a day or two for each recipe. Then I shop for the ingredients, and then off to the kitchen and actually cook. I've written four recipes so far, and two of the most recent ones are still untested. Cooking the recipe once has been working for me so far. I haven't had to tweak and retest the same recipe twice. But I know I'll eventually get to a point where I would need to test multiple times. I also have been looking up other people's recipes for adobo, and taking note of the interesting techniques and ingredients that they used. This can get overwhelming as it is impossible to keep track of the regional differences, let alone individual recipes. What I'm learning off the bat is, adobo in its most pared down, most essential and authentic form is meat stewed in vinegar with a little bit of water. Anything else that's added becomes a window to geography and terroir, and a mirror to culture and creativity. The entire Philippines itself struggle to define what adobo is. I realized it's not so important to ask the question, "at what point does it become something else?" I think the more important questions to ask are: WHO is turning this dish into a trend? WHO is "innovating" this dish? WHO is becoming the main voice on Filipino cuisine?
This is an excavation.
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