7-11-07 look what i had for lunch!

this is what i had for lunch =) tuna belly adobo!!!

now for those of you who are not familiar with filipino cooking, adobo is a dish that is a staple in every filipino family’s menu. the main ingredients of adobo i’ve been told are: vinegar,garlic, red onions, and peppercorn. any kind of meat can be used for this dish, even some vegetables. now, all throughout the country are different variations and takes on this very simple and delicious dish. there are some that are made with coconut milk, some with soy sauce and so on. i personally prefer the “tagalog” recipe which has soysauce, mainly because this is the adobo recipe i’ve known ever since i was a kid.

this is one of my favorite comfort foods, especially adobong baboy (pork adobo) which i enjoy eating with garlic fried rice, a siding of fried eggplant and tomatoes with sauteed shrimp paste (bagoong alamang).

i had this tuna belly dish with plain white rice.

anyway, here is the recipe for tuna belly adobo. enjoy!

tuna belly adobo

ingredients:
tuna belly, cut into big cubes
soy sauce
vinegar (i used balsamic vinegar, but any vinegar is fine)
peppercorns
1-2 bay leaves
green finger pepper
red onion, sliced thinly (about 1/2 medium)
garlic, sliced thinly (about 2 cloves)
oyster sauce (about a 1/2 – 1 tablespoon)
olive oil for sauteing
water

there are 2 ways of cooking adobo. first, is saute the meat with the garlic and onions before adding the liquid; and second, is by putting everything in the pot at once. the easier one is method two. but what i am going to teach you is method one.

heat the olive oil and sear the tuna. remove from the pan and add more oil if necessary. saute the garlic and onions until the garlic is golden brown and the onion is slightly translucent. put in the seared tuna belly and carefully stir. now add the oyster sauce, and soy sauce. let simmer for 1 minute on medium heat, then add the vinegar, water (relative to the amount of soy sauce), pepper corn and green finger pepper. (now regarding the measurement of the vinegar and soy sauce, i use a 1:2 ratio. meaning 1 part vinegar: 2 parts of soy sauce.) let it simmer until the sauce becomes a rich medium brown , slightly thickened, and reduced . you’ll know its done if the smell of the vinegar has toned down. serve with cooked white rice.

enjoy!