There are so many ways of cooking Filipino adobo and I’ve barely scratched the surface. The most popular version among my generation is the one with soy sauce but soy sauce is not even an essential ingredient of adobo. Adobo is essentially a vinegar stew. I find logic in the claim of (credible) food historians who say that, like tapa (dried beef) and daing (dried fish), adobo was borne out of the necessity to preserve food and vinegar was the preservative of choice. The name “adobo” was coined by the Spaniards. What the vinegar stew was called before the colonization is something that was not preserved in the annals of our history.
In a small restaurant at the third floor of the Eastwood Cybermall, one of the specialties is crispy adobo. Deep-fried shredded cooked adobo served on top of rice and served with adobo sauce on the side. A friend brought me there years ago. I don’t know if the restaurant is still there, I can’t even recall its name, but I was badly smitten with the crispy adobo. This is my version.
You’ll need a kitchen spider to execute this dish successfully.
Ingredients
- 2 cups pork adobo
- 3 cups cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon crisp garlic bits
- 1 tablespoon sliced scallions
For the dipping sauce:
- a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar in a proportion that you like
- grated garlic
- shallots chopped
- crushed chili (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a wok or deep frying pan.
- Using two forks, shred the cooked adobo. The finer the shreds, the crispier the result.
- Place just enough shredded meat to line the bottom of the kitchen spider.
- Plunge the spider into the very hot cooking oil and leave for about a minute or until the meat is browned and crisp.
- Lift the spider from the oil and let the excess oil drip off.
- Arrange the crispy fried adobo on top of rice. Sprinkle with crisp garlic bits and sliced scallions. Serve with the dipping sauce on the side.
If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.
Hello and welcome! I'm a retired lawyer and columnist, wife for 28 years, mom of two, and a passionate cook. What is this blog about? Recipes for dishes 
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Hi Ms. Connie. Congratulations for being featured at SAVEUR’s Worldwide Feast: 55 Great Global Food Blogs. I have been following your blog for some time already and was happy to see your blog being one of the great food Blogs. Keep it up!
Thanks, Lalaine. :)
Hi Connie…in the Instructions portion, I think that was a slip of the keyboard… “heat the cooking oil in a wok or deep drying pan.” Di ba, instead of ‘drying’ it should be ‘frying?’
LOL Yes. Slip of a sleepy head. hehehe
wow! congratulations! you certainly deserve the Saveur nod :-)
and i loove adobo flakes. we just never seem to be enough leftovers haha!
One of my favorite dishes from my mom, crispy adobo. Only, hers was adobo crispified, still whole pieces of pork or chicken or squid. Then we use the adobo oil to drizzle on our rice.
Speaking of adobo oil, you know, I tried making fried rice with adobo oil once — garlic, bay leaves, pepper and all — and it was so darn delicious!
Hi! super congratulations on your award! *clap clap* i’m quite a newbie to food blogging and totally adore your blog! If you have time, please take a look at my blog too: thebeeinthekitchen.blogspot.com =)
(would super appreciate pointers as well hehe)
This reminds me of what my college roommate used to bring back to our apartment every Sunday after a weekend at her home. She said it was a family recipe. What they do is cut the pork in small portions and cook it as usual, then leave it simmering for at least a couple of hours more until the sauce dries up and the meat fries in its own oil. The long simmer breaks the meat apart, and the end product looks like crispy shredded meat concentrated with all the adobo flavor. YUMMY. We never did try to make this ourselves though because we’d rather save on gas (and spend more on beer). ;-)
Miss Connie, i am not such a big fan of adobo, pero pag crispy fried adobo, ibang usapan na :) thanks for this. I’ve always wondered pano ba talaga gumawa ng crispy fried adobo/ adobo flakes. Eto pala secret non.