This week was tough. I watched so many YouTube videos and read so many recipes about adobo. I also read through Reynaldo Alejandro's The Philippine Cookbook from 1983. It was probably one of the first Filipino cookbooks catered to the American kitchen, and it was disappointing. It isn't surprising though, since it was published in 1983. While reading, I started to become aware of this large hole in Philippine history. When I was a young student in Manila, Philippine history was taught starting from Spanish colonization. There was maybe a day dedicated to prehistory, but nothing in between that time and the Spanish era was taught. On top of that we were taught to be grateful for all the "innovations" that the Spaniards brought, mainly Catholicism. The Philippine Cookbook has the same underlying tone.
Adobo was named by the Spaniards even though the dish existed even before the Spaniards came. They just didn't know what to call it. That is what exactly got me deeply emotional. The Spaniards changed our lingua franca, changed our names, and erased our history.
I was uprooted from my home country at a very young age, but being in a different country made me feel a lot more Filipino. I was craving my history. I have no knowledge of what the Philippines was before the Spaniards came, but there is so much power in being able to define and decide what it means to be a part of the Filipino diaspora in the now and in the future. I choose to define it through food.
Many might say that this recipe is not adobo. But I will argue that it is cooked in the style of adobo: meat stewed in soy sauce and vinegar with bay leaves, garlic, and peppercorn. I changed the ratio of vinegar and soy sauce to equal parts and used fresh tomatoes and tomato paste to compensate for acidity. This would be really good with buttery mashed potatoes. It's also important to know that this was a stove-top braise but it can definitely be done in the oven. However, the sauce will still need reducing on the stove-top.
Ingredients:
- beef short ribs, bone in, 3 lbs.
- soy sauce, 1/2 cup
- balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup
- water, 1 cup + 1/4 cup
- garlic cloves, crushed, 6 each
- large shallots, sliced, 4 each
- whole black peppercorn, 2 tablespoons
- bay leaves, 5 each
- large vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped, 2 each
- double concentrated tomato paste, 2 tablespoons
- chives, minced, to taste
- sea salt, to taste
- grapeseed oil, 2 tablespoons
- (optional) calamansi citrus or lemon juice, to taste
Season ribs with salt. Over high flame, heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pot. Sear ribs, fat side down until rendered and golden brown. Lower heat, remove ribs from pot and set aside.
Turn heat to medium and add in shallots and garlic. Saute until shallots are translucent. and in tomato paste and cook until the paste darkens in color and oil begins to separate. Add in fresh tomatoes and let its juices deglaze the bottom of the pot.
Add the ribs back into the pot along with bay leaves and black peppercorn. Pour in soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and water. Bring to a boil.
Once it boils, bring back down to simmer and cover. Simmer for 2 hours or until ribs are tender. Check after 1 hour to see if water needs to be added.
After 2 hours, uncover and turn heat to medium and reduce the sauce by half. Season with salt to taste.
Squeeze calamansi citrus over the dish. Sprinkle with chives.
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