Adobong Pusit

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I didn't realise my adobo is already on its 100th entry! But in the back room, its more than that. Not including those drafts that I've already written in a separate word document, in email drafts, in my notebook and those gazillions still in my head - thoughts waiting to be put on paper.

When I started blogging, my intention was to put thoughts into paper. Well, not into paper but into a place where I can actually go back and read through and remember the moment it actually happened. I imagine myself being a columnist for a national paper - with a regular column on musings about life in general. At first, it was all about how I felt at certain points, what I saw that amused me, experiences, adventures. There's a few of those I wrote but are not published online for the sheer reason a lot of them were written in angst, sadness and pain. - episodes when I felt really low and at my darkest hour. Writing helped erase the grey colours and put in a few bright hues. A few written notes and I started to feel better and saw the brighter side - closed the cycle. After awhile, I noticed my thoughts started to focus more on food and cooking. It happens when 80% of your waking hours are spent in the kitchen! And as I started to cook Filipino dishes and started to adventure into new ones, I found it easier to keep the recipes here. And the recipes and dishes expanded to include memories of when it was made, how, for who... and so my adobo was born. Soon, this will become your adobo to share.

Food as it seems always connects to families and friends, of celebrations and special moments! Of giving and sharing.

And because a 100th published entry is a milestone - the most appropriate dish to showcase would be.... ta da da da! Adobong pusit! Adobo has a thousand and one variety, and can be prepared using pork, chicken, and squid.

The ingredients are ultimately the same, except that in cooking squid, the process becomes a bit quicker so as not to overcook the seafood and ruin the dish altogether.

This is cooked with:

1k squid, cleaned and cut (heads separated from tentacles)

vegetable oil

1/2 c vinegar

1/2 soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1/2 c water

2 pcs tomato, sliced (this is a not usual adobo ingredient, but when cooking squid adobo, I like to add tomatoes to add some sweetness to the dish)

If you ask around and search online, the process almost changes as your refresh your browser. There are those who prefer to cook the squid first before sauteing the herbs.

What Mum does is the quick route:

Saute the garlic in vegetable oil until almost brown, add the tomatoes and cook until soft. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, and water. Bring to a simmer then add the squid. Cook/simmer for 5-7 minutes until the squid has turned white. Once cook, remove from the heat until ready to serve. Its important to take the pan off the heat to avoid cooking the squid some more.

In comparing this most squid adobo recipes, this sounds more like a sauteed squid dish, adding a few more vegetables. But I call this adobo for the same reason the 3 major ingredients in adobo are there: garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. Add your ingredients, and this becomes an entirely different dish.

For now, this is Mum's adobong pusit, served with boiled rice. This is one of your favourites!