Adobo or inadobo, refers to a Filipino style of cooking, wherein the ingredients being used are marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, palm or rice vinegar, garlic, and spices. Then, the mixture is stewed and simmered in the same marinade. It is a very traditional recipe and different parts of the islands have their own interpretations, based on local ingredients and taste preferences.

My mother and father both cooked many traditional dishes as part of our weekly dinner plans. I grew up with an understanding of the differences in cuisine between islands, because my mother is of Ilocano descent, coming from a region in the northern islands of the Philippines and my father is of Kapampangan descent, coming from a region in the central islands of the Philippines. We didn’t eat out often, unless it was a special occasion or unless we were spending the weekend out and about together, and it wasn’t practical to plan to cook at home. Growing up, I remember my cousins and kids of my parents’ friends would get so excited to come to our house for a party, simply because they knew my mom or dad was cooking for the event. It made me proud to know that my parents cooked very well and I would often ask to help in the kitchen. They would often ask me to taste test whatever they were cooking, so I developed my love and taste for traditional Filipino foods through those experiences.

Neither of my parents showed me how to cook or prepare dishes when I was younger. I simply observed what they did and remembered these things later on in life, when I taught myself how to prepare whatever it was I was craving at the time, when I was living on my own. When I learned how to follow a recipe properly, I asked my parents if they had any to share. One of the things I treasure the most, that my father gave me years ago when he was still with us, is a stack of recipe cards, which he wrote up for each of my favorite Filipino dishes, that he would prepare for me whenever I came home for a visit. Every time I look at them, with his distinctive handwriting and the details he added with colored markers and pens, it always makes me pause and think back to the smells in the kitchen, how proud he would be to serve me a plate to welcome me home and ask me how things had been, and how much I miss that man.

 

 

This particular recipe was inspired by a dish I saw being prepared on TFC (The Filipino Channel) on a cooking show that I had seen awhile back. I was intrigued by the use of coconut milk in the dish, as my mom or dad had never made this style of adobo for us growing up. This dish is not just cooked inadobo style, but also cooked ginataan style, which refers to the use of coconut milk. It is a whole other level of rich flavor and I really enjoy how beef adobo tastes with this one extra ingredient. I didn’t get a chance to write down the recipe from that show, but remembered the techniques and what was used, and came up with this recipe for my family. You can use chicken or pork, instead of beef in this dish,  or if using beef, any other cuts you would like to try, like beef ribs, brisket, or flank steak.

Typically, dishes that are cooked with coconut milk are spicy and siling labuyo is used. Siling labuyo (Bird’s Eye Pepper) is a type of chili pepper native to the Philippines and is slightly milder than a habanero pepper. My husband and I don’t typically eat spicy food and can’t handle anything too hot. I cooked this dish with our personal tastes and our toddler in mind, which is why I used banana peppers and red bell pepper. It really enhances the flavor of the broth, because of these particular ingredients being used.

It’s a one pot meal which makes me happy because I’m the only dishwasher in my household (womp womp). I feel it is super easy and you really can’t mess this up. It only gets more tender as it cooks, and more flavorful, even as leftovers for the next day.

When I cooked this dish the other night for this blog post, I had no red bell pepper, so I substituted an orange bell pepper I had on hand. I used the orange pepper because I feel it’s just as sweet as a red one. Any color of bell pepper would work fine in this dish, but I personally love the color and flavor of the red bell peppers and banana peppers together. That’s my favorite thing about cooking inadobo, in general. You can switch up any meat, seafood, or vegetables to suit your tastes or ingredients on hand.

Hope you enjoy this as much as our family does!

Good eating is one of life’s great pleasures. -Un bon repas doit commencer par la faim. (A good meal must begin with hunger, or start at the end.)

People who love to eat are always the best people. -Julia Child