When I was taking my Master's degree at night at Brooklyn College, CUNY, I was working full-time during the day as a research assistant in the Burn Research Laboratory of Dr. Charles Fox. The lab was located in New York's Bellevue Hospital and was serviced at that time, jointly, by New York University, Cornell and Columbia University Surgical Departments. Dr. Fox was part of the First Columbia Surgical Division at Bellevue. I joined his lab after getting my BA degree, taking additional courses required to get into the Masters program and serving in the Army. Thus, I was older than most new, young research assistants in his lab; my age being closer to the age of some of the surgical residents who were getting research training in Dr. Fox's lab, as well. Two of these were from the Philippines: Drs. Ramon DeJesus and Ben Zamora. We became fast friends and they introduced me to the pleasures of Filipino food. Fortunately, probably the only Filipino restaurant in New York City (whose name escapes me) was within walking distance of the hospital. Ramon, Ben and I spent many lunch hours there, where I was introduced to Filipino dishes: Lumpia, Filipino spring rolls filled with pork or shrimp that rival any from Chinese restaurants, Pancit, a wonderful fried, thin rice noodle dish with meat and vegetables, Flan, a very rich caramel coated dessert custard that differed from Spanish/ Mexican Flans by being more dense, having been made using more egg yolks and condensed milk rather than fresh. The BEST OF ALL, however, was the Filipino national dish, Adobo; chicken or pork braised in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar and garlic. Simple, easy to prepare with fabulous taste! Recipe follows.
INGREDIENTS
3 Lbs chicken, cut up, or thighs
or
1-2 inch squares of pork belly, shoulder or butt
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 c vinegar*
2 cloves garlic, minced
TT black pepper, freshly ground
PREPARATION
Mix soy, vinegar and garlic in a bowl. Add chicken or pork. Mix to coat. Marinate 15 minutes in refrigerator. Place chicken or pork, with marinade, into a heavy cooking pot. Bring to a boil, mix, lower heat to simmer, cover pot and simmer 20 minutes. Uncover pot and continue to simmer until the sauce thickens and the meat is done; 15-20 minutes more. Add black pepper to taste.
Serve with rice.
* I use white vinegar but rice or wine vinegar, red or white, can be substituted. Each will give a subtle change in the taste but all will give an equally delicious dish.
