Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Chicken-Pork Adobo

Chicken-Pork Adobo

Not your traditional adobo recipe but rather a classic recipe that gets a sweet and spicy twist. The heat is mild but you can get it really hot by adding in more red chili. I rarely do this meal the hard way but most times it’s the easy way and since this meal is prepared a lot, I keep Ziploc bags of it in the freezer. When you decide to cook Chicken-Pork Adobo, take a bag out the night before, let it thaw in the refrigerator and cook it in the morning. In case you forgot to thaw the darn thing, just take it out of the freezer, run it under the tap for a few minutes, take the Chicken-Pork Adobo ice block out if the Ziploc bag, put it in a pot with 60 ml of water, turn on the heat to low and an hour later the Chicken-Pork Adobo is done. Leave it on for half an hour more to get really tender meat.





Ingredients:

½ kilo chicken (preferably chicken thighs but all parts work too)
½ kilo pork (pork loin is best because of its great meat to fat ratio but all parts work as well)
1 head garlic
40 ml vinegar
40 ml soy sauce 
30 gm brown sugar
3 red chili
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 tsp oil
40 ml water


Directions:

The Hard Way

1. Crush the garlic by running the cloves through a press. Set aside.
2. Mince the red chili. Set aside.
3. Heat a heavy large pot and add the oil. 
4. Sear the pork and then the chicken. Place finished pieces in a big bowl.
5. Saute the crushed garlic in the same pan.
6. Deglaze with the vinegar.
7. Add chicken and pork along with rendered juices. 
8. Cook off the sharp vinegar taste on a low simmer for 5 minutes.
9. Turn the heat to high and add soy sauce. 
10. Mix in the red chilli and give the pot a stir.
11. Combine the brown sugar and the water and pour that in. 
12. Add the ground black pepper and bay leaves.13. Stir the pot, set the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. (30 min. for really tender meat)

The Easy Way

1. Leave the oil out.
2. Combine everything in a pot.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.

The easy way or the hard way, Chicken-Pork Adobo is simple enough for anyone to make. There are countless variations and that leaves plenty of room for experimentation. The basic flavor elements of the black pepper, salty soy and the sourness of the vinegar can be used with any meat to make your very own adobo version. Try cooking up a unique version today.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

My Recipe Repository - Getting Started

My Recipe Repository - Getting Started

Through the years, I have created and developed recipes inspired by my family's cooking and by various encounters and experiences with food. I almost always never make anything the same twice because I do not follow recipes - even my own. It is more of an ingredient source problem more than anything and working with whatever available ingredients has been my way of cooking ever since I can remember. Some of these recipes turn out excellent and some are not even fit for human consumption. Fortunately, lower forms of animals like pets can still enjoy these meals. I hope the ones I choose to post on this blog turn out to be acceptable at the least and perhaps one or two become good enough for readers to try out and enjoy.

Most of the recipes will be healthy but some will be heart attack meals and killer food for diabetics. Some of these unhealthy recipes may become allowable for persons at risk when taken in moderation. That is if, some substitutions and/or reductions of deadly ingredients are made when preparing them. A small portion, once in a while, should be OK but don't take my word for it. You should always ask your doctor to be sure. Health conscious individuals will find some recipes to be unacceptable but some healthy meals will also be presented. Weight watchers will have some recipes to look forward to as well and they are advised to stay away from the diet destructive meals available on the site.

From the usual to the strange, the recipes on My Recipe Repository will make some people experience joy and pleasure when tasting the food prepared from these recipes. Some may even puke from the weird and bordering on the taboo meals one could make from the recipes in this repository. It will make individuals with weak constitutions hurl just by reading the exotic ingredients and preparation methods.Getting started with cooking the meal from the recipe may not even be considered because of its out of the ordinary nature.

From heavenly to hellish, but mostly somewhere in the middle, the food you can prepare from this hodgepodge of recipes is hoped to awaken a passion for food and food preparation.