Adobong Asparagus

I have no easy access to kangkong (water spinach) where I am now. But I do have a craving for this vegetarian recipe from time to time, especially when I feel I have too much baggage around my waistline, hehe...

So one day I cooked adobong asparagus for lunch. One bunch of asparagus was too much for lunch. So I had leftovers which my older son saw and tasted as soon as he got home. He told me, "This is good, Ma! It tastes familiar." I reminded him about adobong kangkong which we used to have back in the Philippines. "O, now I remember!" was his reply.

It was sooo good, in fact, that I probably will not anymore buy kangkong from a store two-hour drive away from me for the purposes of satisfying my craving for this veggie dish.

UPDATE as of 10-07-09:
This dish is well-loved now by at least two readers, and one of them, Sharon, even blogged about it (and about me -- thanks for the heaps of praises, Sharon!). Sharon's blog also has some very interesting baking recipes, although she says she is a newbie (I'd say she does great in baking, even better than I do, but she does not seem to believe that she is that good already). She has another blog which focuses on French to English translation (and actually works as F-->E translator). Her posts are very informative, and it is very apparent how erudite she is!

Ingredients: (all approximations)
1 bunch asparagus(sorry I forgot to take the weight, about the diameter of the circle you form when joining your two thumbs and middle fingers)
2 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
freshly milled pepper to taste
pinch of salt

Instructions:
Heat wok at medium setting for about 5 minutes while you prepare garlic and asparagus. Cut off the tips of asparagus about 3 inches, then chop the rest at 2-3 cm intervals down to the tough parts. Discard the tough parts of stems. Rinse well under cold water and let drain.
Heat oil for about 30 seconds and sautee garlic until light brown. Add asparagus and stir-fry about 3 minutes. Transfer veggies in a bowl/platter and keep warm. Pour soy sauce and vinegar to the wok and let simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes untouched. Place back the veggies into the pan carefully on top of the soy sauce-vingear without stirring. Sprinkle the freshly milled black pepper on top and add a pinch of salt. Let simmer uncovered without stirring for 3 minutes. Finally stir some more and turn off heat.

Serve with plain rice. Enjoy as is if you are trying to lose weight, or enjoy with a good protein source.

Chicken Adobo Fried Rice

Any Filipino loves using leftover adobo (if any) for fried rice.
Before my husband and I went out of town for an anniversary celebration (without the kids!), I cooked chicken adobo for them to bring to my in-laws to have for supper. Not that I was worried they would not have anything they would like to eat there, and I was sure my MIL would cook something good for them. It's just that on that day, I finished packing and freezing my chickens and I left one in the fridge for having chicken adobo, but my husband, who was quite concerned that I was already exhausted, offered to bring us out for supper. I did not object. But thinking I did not want to leave the chickens in the fridge for 3 days, I cooked them that night and left instructions for my older son to bring it to my MIL for their supper. Of course, I wanted my in-laws to have a taste of adobo as well.


Since my husband was the breast lover (chicken, that is), I had leftovers mainly of breast meat. I cut them in bite-size pieces and I added the leftover chicken teriyaki from a previously ordered Chinese food. Since I did not have enough adobo sauce, I mixed some soy sauce with water (probably 1/4 cup each) and used that for further seasoning of the rice. When fried rice is prepared this way, as in lots of meat in it, we Filipinos like saying, "Kanin pa lang, ulam na." (Rice itself is a whole dish" since we do not really consider rice alone as a meal by itself, and it has to be accompanied by meat and veggies. Now, even if I was considering adding frozen veggies (carrots and peas) to this, I decided against it because I was going to convert a leftover saucy beef dish into a healthy veggie based stir-fry (up on my next post).

I will not post exact amounts of ingredients; just approximate because everything depends on how much you have.

Ingredients:
4 cups of leftover cooked rice
(optional) 2 cloves garlic, minced (I did not add any since I had some still in the adobo sauce)
1 whole chicken breast adobo leftover (or so, this can be forgiving) plus whatever adobo sauce was left
1-2 tbsp oil (may add more depending on the amount of rice and how oily you want it to be. I don't like it too oily, nor too "dry")
soy-sauce water mix (1:1)
kosher salt

Instructions:
Heat wok/pan. Add oil (then garlic, if using). Sautee chicken pieces briefly. Add the rice and stir, stir, stir, until the grains do not clump together too much and are quite coated with some oil. Add the soy sauce-water mixture and stir, stir, stir again. Adjust taste with kosher salt as needed. Continue stirring until heated good (some want the rice to get toasted. We don't.)

Chicken Adobo American Style

I have never met any Filipino or non-Filipino who did not like

From Chicken adobo with garlic rice

the taste of this easy to prepare savory dish. This is one of the few special dishes which kids and adults alike will want over and over again...

My husband has always loved this dish, he would even ask for the leftover to be included in his lunchpack for the next day! I have modified a bit to bend to the inkling of Americans to gravies and sauces, so I thickened the sauce a bit.

INGREDIENTS:
1 whole chicken, cut up
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
10 peppercorns, crushed (or use freshly milled pepper)
1-3 bay leaves

1/2 cup water (or as much as you would like your sauce to be; I like some extra for flavoring adobo fried rice for next day)
adjust taste with sugar and additional soy sauce if desired
water-cornstarch for thickening

PROCEDURE:
Mix all ingredients except chicken. Pour some into a big saucepan to cover surface, place the chicken pieces, then pour the rest of the mixture. Simmer covered for 10 minutes, turn the pieces over, then simmer for another 10 minutes. Uncover and turn heat up to reduce the sauce until chicken renders fat (careful not to scorch). Lower heat to medium high and brown chicken pieces. Add water to reconstitute the sauce. Adjust taste with sugar if desired (I add about 1-3 tbsp) and some soy sauce (or you can use salt). Thicken to desired consistency. Strain sauce to make it smoother if desired.

My husband loves the breast part, eaten with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. My kids like garlic fried rice instead of potatoes. My stepd likes plain rice with it.