Judging the 2011 Pistahan Adobo Cookoff

I made adobo today.

Yes, again. Why not? Adobo is great!

 

The husband was nice enough to post the dinner I cooked for him on FB. =) I swear, whenever adobo is around, something good happens. I have memories of my family and adobo. I've met good friends because of adobo. I think I even got my husband to fall in love with me almost 8 years ago because of my adobo. I owe adobo a lot, but again, the powers that be let adobo bless me again. Last month, I was chosen by the Pistahan committee to be a judge in their annual Adobo Cook Off. An open call was made for the public to bring their best adobo to Pistahan.

For those who don't know, Pistahan is a yearly festival held at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. It celebrates the Filipino-American experience for two whole days. I have been going to Pistahan since I was a teenager. It's such a great event to attend because of the entertainment (usually a celeb from the Philippines is flown to SF to perform), the educational and creative pavilions, and of course, the FOOD!

I was also asked to write about the Culinary Pavilion for Pistahan's official publication - EXPO Magazine. The Culinary Pavilion housed an exhibit of various grilled delicacies from the Philippines and was sponsored by Mama Sita's. On Saturday, I went to the Culinary Pavilion and was ready to eat some adobo!

This is me with reps from Ramar Foods, the sponsor of the Adobo Cookoff.
Susie Quesada VP Marketing and Chef Wayne.

I thought I knew adobo, but I really didn't.
There were so many interpretations of the National Dish!

Adobo #1: was a pork adobo made with a tomato base.

Abodo #2:  Chicken and Pork Adobo with Quail Egs

Adobo #3:  Chicken Adobo with Potatoes

Adobo #4:  Chicken Adobo with Lemongrass

Adobo #5:  Traditional Chicken Adobo

Here I am judging.  I look so serious.  Each adobo has its own personality.  No two were alike at all which made the judging process that much more difficult.  Did we go for traditional flavors or we were ready to give avant garde approaches the crown?

The rest of the judging team comprised of
the "angels" representing Heavenly Ice Cream.  To the left is Tita Pearl, representative from Mama Sita's.

So who won?

It was none other than my friend Aileen Suzara of Filipino food blog Kitchen Kwento!  Her lemongrass chicken adobo burst with flavor - a flavor not normally found in adobo.  It totally worked and was a great new view on our classic dish. Congrats, Aileen!

So if I were eligible to enter my own adobo, what would I have done to it?
As we all now know, there are so many different ways to make adobo.
Here is my technique:

1. Sautee chopped onions, garlic, and pickled jalapeno peppers in salt, black pepper, olive oil and butter.  This bring out the flavor in the onions and garlic and adds spice.
2. Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar - not only will the balsamic pick up the fond on the bottom of the pan, it will reduce down creating a syrupy and sweeter sauce.
3. Add raw chicken wings and add 1 part soy / 2 parts white vinegar / 1 part water
4. Cook on medium heat until chicken is full cooked

That's it!

From the way husband ate his adobo, I have a feeling he liked it.  It's going to be perfect for lunch tomorrow!  Can't believe it's already Monday tomorrow!  Ta ta for now, loves!

xoxo,

Jo

Thank you to Frank Jang of Asian Week for the photographs