More stuff I can eat! (… and that you’ll want to!)
As I mentioned earlier, some of my friends have been great about coming through with flavorful but not acidic recipes for me from their own cuisine. I was under the impression that Filipino food is spicy, but perhaps that is only because my Filipina friend — a Fabulous Bureaucrat on sabbatical — is spicy! Anyway, she sent me these terrific-sounding dishes. I haven’t tried them yet, but with this rainy weekend coming, I am thinking that they sound like the ultimate in comfort food.
Chicken Adobo
This is the most traditional Filipino dish. My mother always added potatoes, when it doesn’t have them, it’s just not adobo to me. From what I read on the internet, it seems like there are endless varieties of this dish, including some that are made with fish, squid, green beans or sweet potatoes!
3 lbs of chicken , cut up
3-4 potatoes, cut into 8ths (peeled or not)
1/2 cup of soy sauce
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 or 2 HEADS (yes, heads) of garlic, minced*
2 bay leaves
1 or 2 tsp of ground pepper
salt to taste
(3/4 cup of water if you like more sauce)
Prep chicken & potatoes. I take the skins off both, but you don’t have to. Place chicken & potatoes in a large pot. Cover with the rest of the ingredients except water. It is better if
you let this marinate for at least 1/2 hour, turning the chicken around in the broth.
After marinating, add the water & bring pot to a boil, then turn down to simmer until chicken & potatoes are tender, about 1/2 hour. Serve over hot rice. This dish is way better the next day & is easily doubled. Serves 6.
*Given the way she emphasized that, I guess my friend doesn’t know my own cooking habits! I always use a full head of garlic.
Arroz Caldo Con Pollo
Rice Chicken Soup
This is a restorative soup given to people who have been ill or just given birth. It is good any time & wicked easy to make.
3 TBL veggie oil (I use olive)
1/2 cup chopped onions (I use the bottom of the scallions)
2 TBL minced garlic
8 1/2 inch slices of ginger
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lbs of chicken (I use legs & thighs, no skin)
4 TBL of patis (fish sauce) or 2 TBL of salt (Not both!)
6 cups of water
2 cups uncooked rice
1/4 cup chopped scallion greens
1/4 tsp of ground pepper
In a large pot, heat the oil & saute the onion, garlic & ginger until the onions are transparent.
Add the chicken, patis/salt. Cover & simmer for 5 minutes.
Add water & rice. let boil then turn down to low. Stir often to prevent sticking, about 25 minutes or until rice is tender.
Now, you can fish the honking big pieces of ginger out now, if you are serving it to others, or you can just fish them out when you are eating it. My mom uses ginger powder ’cause people hate the fishing out part, but I think it tastes different.
Add the scallion tops & pepper just before serving. Serves 6 to 8, or makes a lot of yummy leftovers
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12 Responses to “More stuff I can eat! (… and that you’ll want to!)”
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You haven’t led me astray with any recipe yet, Miss Conduct, so I can’t wait to try these, they sound very, very good!
While that chicken adobo sounds delish, I’m not sure about the “non-acidic” part with 3/4 cup of vinegar?
cautiously,
Ajay
Ajay, I know, I’m going to check that out before I try to make it.
I was just eating a very different sort of Arroz con Pollo in Panama last week. Panamanian food was really great and very interesting — subtle use of herbs and spices in combinations that really suit the food they go on. I’ve been planning to research some recipes and try them; I’m betting most are low acid so I’ll pass on anything I like.
I *think* they soy and vinegar do something to neutralize each other… make Mr. Improbable eat it first. It’s so yummy that you can’t stand it!
I hope you like them!
Some googling tells me that soy sauce is moderately acidic, but garlic is alkaline…so maybe the garlic is doing some neutralizing. I’ve never cooked adobo, but I did love it the couple times I’ve had it. I don’t remember it being particularly acidic, just tasty.
But then, I love acidic foods, the sourer the better.
Hi, Robin. My latest favorite should suit your current diet — ham and lentil stew. I do it in the crockpot.
2 cups lentils (rinsed and sorted)
2-3 cups ham, diced (I use turkey ham because regular ham has way too much sugar in the processing for my diabetic husband)
1 carrot, more or less diced
3-5 stalks celery, more or less diced
2 plum tomatoes (about 1 cup) diced
marjoram (fresh is best, but otherwise 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp coriander
1/2 onion diced (if you want…not sure if this acidic?)
You can toss in garlic if you like
2-3 cups water
Cook in crockpot for 8 hours on low. Check at five hours and add another cup of water if all the water is absorbed. At least that’s what the original recipe says. Or you can do it my way. Mix all that up the night before so you don’t have to deal with it on the way out to work in the morning. If all the water is absorbed by the lentils in the morning (and it will be), add another 2 cups water.
Adobo = YUMMY!
So, for the adobo – is the chicken on the bone or off?
I think “cut up” implies bone off. My, that sounds rude.
Lynette, that sounds great — I don’t eat pork, but I’d substitute turkey ham as you do. Do you think it would work without the tomatoes, though? They’re on my list of no-no’s.
Hi, Robin. Completely forgot about the acidity of tomatoes. I think it would definitely work without the tomatoes. It’s fast becoming on my list of no-nos, too, as I think I’ve developed an allergy to fructose, even in natural forms. Ugh.
As you can probably tell, my method of cooking is very “more or less.” So if I take something out, I just add more of what I like. I really liked how the fresh marjoram tasted and will add more in the next batch. And likely a bit more celery and less carrots (for the same fructose reasons).
I love recipes like this that are so easily adjusted for personal tastes…
Me too, Lynette. I’m a very improvisational “a little bit of this, a little bit of that” kind of cook.