Adobo, the vegetarian way

The adobo can be considered as the national dish for Filipinos. Everywhere in the country you would find a family-old recipe of this simple yet delicious dish. Even restaurants have variations of the adobo. A native restaurant is just not complete without it in their menu.

It is not a surprise that Filipino vegetarians have adapted this dish, a way of not missing a taste that one has grown up with. Amazingly it is just as delicious as those made of meat. And for those who are not aware that the main ingredient is not meat, it is not a surprise that they would attest it to have the same taste as the real thing, even better.

BK Jamuna of the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Center – Cebu demonstrated to The FREEMAN the vegetarian way of preparing the adobo.

BK Jamuna’s Vegetarian Adobo

Ingredients

3 Tbsps Vegetable oil

3/4 cup Soy sauce

3 Tbsps Vinegar

3 tbsps Brown sugar

3 pcs Green chili (espada), a replacement for garlic and onion or you can use a dash of hing

3 pcs Laurel leaves

5 pcs Azucena

A dash of Black pepper, whole and ground

3 pcs Star anise

1/4 kilo Meat magic, soaked overnight and washed thoroughly

Tomatoes for garnishing

Procedure

Marinate meat magic in 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of brown sugar for 15 minutes.

Heat oil then sauté green chili and whole black pepper.

Add the marinated meat magic.

Then pour in the rest of the soy sauce, azucena, star anise and brown sugar.

Add water when needed.

Lastly add a dash of ground black pepper and 3 to 4 tbsps of vinegar.

Let stand for a few minutes before taking it out of the fire.

Garnish with fresh ripe tomatoes.

Serves 6 to 8.

Preparation time: 15 to 20 minutes

Cost: P100