Pinoy Chicken

For a foodie, it does not matter where your thought process begins it always winds up somewhere in the vicinity of food. So it was when I began to think about December 31 2015.

Now, among other things, this is the date that the new ASEAN Economic Community is supposed to have come into being. The idea of course is loosely based on the European model and I have grave doubts that the ASEAN project will ever really get off the ground. But that is not really what is this st  ory is all about for this story is about Khun Mauralee.

Mauralee was the wife of a Thai diplomat who traveled throughout Southeast Asia and beyond with her husband in the sixties. One of her duties as the ambassador's wife was to host parties of various sorts always involving food fixed in the Thai style. In Southeast Asia, it was not so difficult to find the ingredients she needed, particularly since she could always import food from Thailand through the embassy. Elsewhere in the world, however, getting the right ingredients became a challenge. Her rising up to the challenge ultimately became a cookbook that she wrote especially for the Thai diaspora to assist them in finding (or substituting) ingredients for making Thai style foods in foreign locations.  Her book was a great success and it was Mauralee's cookbook (written in both English and Thai) which in North America first introduced me to the Thai kitchen.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Mauralee proceeded to write a second cookbook , this time based on the foods of the entire Southeast Asia area; the ASEAN cookbook. In this sequel, she gathers together recipes from all the ASEAN countries , including the Philippines. And so 31 December became ASEAN; ASEAN became Mauralee and the food of Southeast Asia, then the Philippines. Then chicken adobo.

Chicken adobo is considered to be the national dish of the Philippines. Of course, like many national dishes there are as many variations as there are cooks. With its Spanish colonial heritage, there are also disputes about the origin of chicken adobo; some people say that it is a fusion dish, a blend of local, Chinese and Spanish influences. Others say it is a dish which originated in the Philippines long before the Spanish arrived.

Whatever side of the discussion one happens to favor, there is no question but that the dish is delicious. Our version is made with chicken thighs, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce, ingredients which everyone agrees on but then we go on to add mushrooms and other ingredients which give it our particular signature. It is served with black beans and rice.

So come on out and enjoy our special for Friday 8th January 2016. Chicken adobo the national dish of the Philippines. 140B. A warning: this dish may be considered spicy to some people.