Chinese-style adobo is often described as savory, saucy and sweet. The use of oyster sauce and brown sugar in the mixture makes it sweeter yet thicker and richer in taste.
This is the kind of adobo that entrepreneur, baker and events caterer Diana Ang-Uy grew up with in a household run by her Chinese father, Miguel. Her dad (also known as Gwakong to his grandchildren), would even drop two or three pieces of star anise right before simmering, giving it a nice aromatic flavor.
“This is the same adobo I prepare for my children (Matthew and Nicole),” Ang-Uy said. “My son loves it with lots of sauce on a mound of hot rice.”
Her daughter prefers the hard-boiled eggs served with adobo.
“I remember Papa would cook the pork in a glazed Chinese clay pot, not the usual Filipino clay pot used for kare-kare,” Ang-Uy said. “He would add water every so often to keep the pork mixture from drying.”
For every kilo of pork, she puts two tablespoons of sugar. She browns the garlic in oil and adds soy sauce, pepper, vinegar and sugar. The oyster sauce and star anise are added last.
The result is a heady, fragrant dish with a sweetish finish.
“You can’t put so much star anise because it has a very strong flavor. You remove it right before serving,” she said.
Aside from the Chinese-style adobo, Ang-Uy also enjoys preparing the typical Filipino version “which is one is to one,” she says. “If you put one cup of soy sauce, you add one cup of vinegar. No star anise, but with bay leaf and whole peppercorns. And no water.”
Young entrepreneur
Apart from her adobo, her children also crave her charbroiled lamb chops marinated in olive oil, lemon and garlic; rib-eye steak seasoned only with salt and pepper and brushed with olive oil; and baked salmon and pasta Alfredo.
Ang-Uy’s passion for food and catering started when she was 9 years old. Her mom, Marilou, used to run a garments business and Ang-Uy would sell lunch meals and snacks to their mananahi (seamstresses).
“I would cook instant ramen noodles or buy cases of bottled soda and sell them to our people,” she recalled. “I had this small Little Twin Stars notebook back then where I kept a list of their debts. On payday, I would collect payments.”
During her free time, the young entrepreneur would help her lola cook in the kitchen or assist her mom in baking.
She finished Hotel and Restaurant Management at St. Paul’s College in Quezon City. To further her skills, she attended cooking lessons led by Sylvia Reynoso and Dorothy Ferreria. She also had a few lessons in Chinese cooking in Binondo.
In 1991, she opened her own catering business, Simply Delicious, serving meals at various events, such as seminars, corporate meetings, parties, etc. In 2015, she changed the business name to What’s Cookin’ Kitchenette, and started catering to bigger celebrations and larger clientele, from themed birthdays to memorable debuts and elegant weddings.
Ang-Uy can cater meals for anywhere from a group of 50 to a full sit-down dinner for 2,000 people or a buffet setup for 5,000.
Her specialties include Pot Roast Beef, Chicken Pastel, Lengua Sevillana, Pastel de Lengua, Cannelloni and her signature cream-based pasta, Fettuccine à la Diana with chicken, bacon, mushroom and bell pepper.
Ang-Uy is also a serious baker. In fact, some of her desserts have been included in the best-selling Inquirer Lifestyle “Best Desserts” book series, like the Mango Walnut Torte, Éclair and Blueberry Cheesecake.
When not too busy with work, she bonds and bakes with her daughter, who also shares her baking knowledge with classmates and friends.
Gwakong’s Chinese-style adobo
1 kg pork belly (liempo), cut in 1 ½-inch thick pieces
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/8 c or 6-8 cloves minced garlic
1 ½ c oyster sauce
½ c vinegar
1 tsp cracked black pepper
5 pieces hard-boiled eggs
2-3 pieces star anise
3 c water or as needed
Heat oil in a heavy pan over medium high heat. Sauté garlic until light brown. Add sliced pork belly, brown sugar, pepper, soy sauce and vinegar. Let it boil. Stir and add water (add more water as needed).
When pork is tender, add oyster sauce, star anise and hard-boiled eggs. Stir gently. Simmer for few minutes. Serve warm.