Chicken Adobo Dinner
LJ ate my post!!! Argh! Now I have to rewrite everything. Grrr...
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Ever since
_darra_ posted about Romy Dorotan of Cendrillon fame's recipe for Chicken Adobo, I've had a hankering to make it. I've never been all that successful in making adobo before, probably because I don't really know what it's supposed to taste like. At least when referring to Filipino-style adobo, I mean. I'm used to the Chinese version which is made with rock sugar and star anise, but I've always been curious about Pinoy adobo. Yes, I had a deprived childhood, haha. :)
We'd been having a spate of good weather recently, so I thought it would be nice to invite
starbuck86, who was so bored she even arrived early,
mistr_sparkle, and C to a little dinner at my place yesterday. The recipe was easy enough to follow, with one surprising ingredient -- coconut milk! I never thought coconut milk would be part of adobo, but I was excited to give it a try anyway. I followed the recipe almost exactly, except I used 3 chicken legs with thighs attached instead of the whole chicken the recipe called for because I have no idea how to chop a whole chicken. I'm an idiot when it comes to things like that. Give me pre-cut stuff anytime! I tried to cut through the leg and the thigh, but I think my knife was too dull. Oh well, what can you expect from a 7-piece set that cost $7?? I guess it's time to buy a good knife. Ebay, here I come!
The chicken adobo was super easy to make, and the end result was really yummy. The unsauced chicken was tender and flavourful without a strong vinegary taste. People who don't like vinegar can eat it without the sauce. The adobo sauce was wonderfully tangy, with the coconut milk providing an interesting taste component and making the sauce creamy. I strained the sauce before pouring it over the chicken, but I couldn't resist adding the strained out garlic and pepper over the chicken adobo being photographed. :)
Chicken Adobo
Now, I couldn't very well invite people and then serve them only one course, right? We needed vegetables! One of my standbys is stir-fried green beans. It's delicious, easy to make, and makes me feel like I'm cooking something healthy. :) However, I've never quite managed to capture that restaurant taste. A few days ago, I came across a recipe that was similar to mine except for a secret ingredient that I'd never heard of or used before, so I thought "Hmmm...maybe that's what's missing." The ingredient? Szechuan preserved vegetables. The end result was pretty close to a restaurant-like, although Mui Garden's version will forever be my all-time favourite.
Sichuan Style Dry-Fried String beans
What about dessert, you say? Of course we had dessert! I haven't had time to upload those photos yet, so I'll leave you with a little preview of what we had.
Strawberries in the sun.
You can see how sunny it was from the light spilling over the strawberries. It's been getting dark later and later -- it was still light out when we finished dinner at 7:30. :) And yes,
starbuck86, I still owe you a formal dinner at my place. Soon. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ever since
_darra_ posted about Romy Dorotan of Cendrillon fame's recipe for Chicken Adobo, I've had a hankering to make it. I've never been all that successful in making adobo before, probably because I don't really know what it's supposed to taste like. At least when referring to Filipino-style adobo, I mean. I'm used to the Chinese version which is made with rock sugar and star anise, but I've always been curious about Pinoy adobo. Yes, I had a deprived childhood, haha. :)
We'd been having a spate of good weather recently, so I thought it would be nice to invite
starbuck86, who was so bored she even arrived early,
mistr_sparkle, and C to a little dinner at my place yesterday. The recipe was easy enough to follow, with one surprising ingredient -- coconut milk! I never thought coconut milk would be part of adobo, but I was excited to give it a try anyway. I followed the recipe almost exactly, except I used 3 chicken legs with thighs attached instead of the whole chicken the recipe called for because I have no idea how to chop a whole chicken. I'm an idiot when it comes to things like that. Give me pre-cut stuff anytime! I tried to cut through the leg and the thigh, but I think my knife was too dull. Oh well, what can you expect from a 7-piece set that cost $7?? I guess it's time to buy a good knife. Ebay, here I come!
The chicken adobo was super easy to make, and the end result was really yummy. The unsauced chicken was tender and flavourful without a strong vinegary taste. People who don't like vinegar can eat it without the sauce. The adobo sauce was wonderfully tangy, with the coconut milk providing an interesting taste component and making the sauce creamy. I strained the sauce before pouring it over the chicken, but I couldn't resist adding the strained out garlic and pepper over the chicken adobo being photographed. :)
Chicken Adobo
Now, I couldn't very well invite people and then serve them only one course, right? We needed vegetables! One of my standbys is stir-fried green beans. It's delicious, easy to make, and makes me feel like I'm cooking something healthy. :) However, I've never quite managed to capture that restaurant taste. A few days ago, I came across a recipe that was similar to mine except for a secret ingredient that I'd never heard of or used before, so I thought "Hmmm...maybe that's what's missing." The ingredient? Szechuan preserved vegetables. The end result was pretty close to a restaurant-like, although Mui Garden's version will forever be my all-time favourite.
Sichuan Style Dry-Fried String beans
What about dessert, you say? Of course we had dessert! I haven't had time to upload those photos yet, so I'll leave you with a little preview of what we had.
Strawberries in the sun.
You can see how sunny it was from the light spilling over the strawberries. It's been getting dark later and later -- it was still light out when we finished dinner at 7:30. :) And yes,
starbuck86, I still owe you a formal dinner at my place. Soon. :)