Variations on Filipino Adobo: Spice Paste

I keep imagining what Filipino food would be like if the Spanish influence was scaled down to a minimum. I keep looking at Indonesian cuisine and Malaysian cuisine; all three countries have a shared history and culture. Perhaps that kind of Filipino food already exists in the southern islands, but there is another factor that I would like to add in: being a Filipino in California. What happens to Filipino food if the use of spice pastes became more common, just like in Indonesia and Malaysia? What does California- Malay-amplified- Filipino diasporic cuisine look like? What if the Fujian influence was amplified? What if the South Indian influence was amplified?

**edit: As with all adobos, I suggest not eating this on the same day. Adobo tastes better the following day. My theory is that the vinegar mellows out and the meat marinates even longer.

Ingredients:

• chicken legs and thighs, attached, skin on, bone in, 3 each (total of 3 thighs and three legs)
• soy sauce, 1/2 cup
• cane vinegar, 3/4 cup
• water, 2 cups
• coconut milk, 1 can
• garlic cloves, 10 each
• shallots, slice into large chunks, 4 large
• fresh turmeric, sliced unpeeled, 2-inch piece
• cilantro stems, roughly chopped, 2 tablespoons
• limes, 2 each
• ground coriander, 1 teaspoon
• bay leaves, 5 each
• whole black peppercorns, 2 tablespoons
• tomato paste, 2 tablespoons
• kale, ribbed, cut into 1-inch pieces, 1/2 bunch
• brown sugar, 2 tablespoons
• sea salt, to taste
• grapeseed or any neutral oil, 2 tablespoons

Season chicken with salt. Set aside.

Make a spice paste with garlic cloves, shallots, fresh turmeric, cilantro stems, 3 strips of lime zest, and ground coriander using a food processor or an immersion blender. Set aside.

Heat grapeseed oil over high heat in a heavy bottomed pot. Sear chicken legs and thighs on both sides until skin is golden brown. Lower heat, remove chicken from the pot and set aside.

Slowly and carefully add in the spice paste and gradually increase the heat to medium. Cook the spice paste until fragrant and darkens in color. Add the tomato paste and cook until the mixture starts to coat the bottom of the pot.

Add the chicken back into the pot along with the bay leaves and peppercorns. Pour in the soy sauce, vinegar and water. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, uncover, and increase heat to medium high, and simmer for 15 more minutes.

Pour in coconut milk and mix in brown sugar. Simmer for 15 more minutes or until the sauce thickens to a consistency of heavy cream.

Turn off heat and add in kale. Let the residual heat of the curry wilt the greens. Adjust seasoning and add in lime juice. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Eat with jasmine rice.