Through the years of Kitchen Rescue, adobo has been one of the most requested recipes.

My dear friends, some of the most celebrated names in the industry, shared their signature adobo recipes.

From Marvin Agustin’s easy-to-do yet tasty one-dish chicken with kangkong and Redd Agustin’s delicious blended pork and squid to Gene Gonzalez’s lavishly tempting Del Diablo, there are many reasons we can’t get enough of our very own iconic adobo.

Adobong Balumbalunan, Atay at Manok with Chinese Kangkong

Marvin loves to just put things together. He cooks spontaneously. In his words, tantsa-tantsa lang. So feel free to adjust the seasonings according to your liking. Adobo, after all, is personal. The best adobo is the one that makes you happy.

¼ c oil

¼ kg liver, season with salt and pepper

1 kg chicken thigh quarters, cut into bite-size pieces; season with salt and pepper

¼ kg gizzard; season with salt and pepper

3 c water, to soften gizzard and to use for adobo sauce

Adobo sauce:

½ c chopped garlic

⅔ c soy sauce

2 Tbsp sugar

2 bay leaves

⅓ vinegar

½ kg Chinese kangkong, blanched

Heat oil. Season liver with salt and pepper then fry. Remove and set aside.

In the same pan, fry gizzard. In a separate pot with boiling water, transfer the fried gizzard and boil until tender.

In the same pan, fry chicken fillet until sides are browned. Remove the chicken and set aside.

In the same pan, saute the garlic until soft. Add soy sauce, sugar, gizzard with stock, chicken fillet, liver and bay leaf. Add vinegar and simmer.

Blanch kangkong leaves lightly in a separate pot. Drain and transfer to a serving plate. Cap with adobo. (Marvin Agustin on YouTube; @marvinagustin on Instagram)

Pork Ribs and Squid Adobo sa Gata

Chef Redd sent me this, and it was one of the tastiest adobos I’ve tried. Half of this dish, he said, he owes to his dad.

“I liked the way my dad did his squid adobo and I know I make a killer pork adobo, so I figured, why not combine it together?”

Redd’s cooking is based on memories of dishes he enjoyed as a child, to which he adds his own flair, focusing on flavors and proper techniques.

For the squid:

500 g squid lumot cleaned, save ink

2 pc bay leaf

3 Tbsp oil

3 Tbsp patis

1Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp sukang tuba

For the pork:

750 g pork ribs, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 Tbsp oil

Peppercorns

4 pc bay leaf

12 pc garlic cloves

Rock salt

¼ c patis

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

½ c sukang tuba

1c kakang gata

½ c water

3 pc siling pangsigang

Clean squid, take out the beak and eyes. Slice.

Prepare 2 cups of water, 1 Tbsp baking soda then soak squid for 1 hour. Drain and chill the squid.

In a heavy-bottom pot or wok, heat up vegetable oil then add the garlic, peppercorns and bay leaf. Cook until garlic changes color.

Add pork ribs and sear to caramelize pork in medium to high heat. Season with rock salt. Add sugar, patis, soy sauce, then cook it off while stirring for about 10 minutes, then gently add vinegar. Do not stir. Cook vinegar until it gets absorbed by the pork then add coconut milk and water. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour and 15 mins in low heat, uncovered.

When pork is tender, add green chili. Turn off heat.

Heat up oil in the pan then add garlic and bayleaf.

Add squid ink, patis, soy, vinegar and cook for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Increase heat. Add squid, cook for 2 minutes exactly then shut off heat. Set aside.

Finishing: Heat up the pork adobo; when it boils add the squid and heat for 1 minute. (Follow @theporkproject on Instagram)

Adobo del Diablo

This Kapampangan-style adobo is one of chef Gene’s favorites. A recipe from his hometown, it is made tasty by the cornucopia of ingredients, layering of flavors and the caramelization of meats. It is called Del Diablo because it tastes so good and tempting, it must have been made by the devil, Gene quipped.

1½ c pork, cut into 1-inch cubes

1½ c chicken

½ c chicken heart

½ c beef liver, cut into ¼-inch cubes

½ c pork kidney, cut into 1-inch cubes

½ c chicken giblets, cleaned

¼ c chicken blood, cut into 1-inch cubes

⅓ c vinegar

2 Tbsp corn oil

½ Tbsp cracked pepper

2 Tbsp garlic

¾ Tbsp salt

4 Tbsp fish sauce

2 c chicken stock

Saute garlic in corn oil until slightly brown. Add pork, chicken, chicken heart, beef liver, pork kidney, beef liver, pork kidney, chicken giblets and chicken blood. Add vinegar, pepper, fish sauce.

Remove chicken giblets and heart, beef liver and chicken blood. Continue braising.

When brown crust forms and meat turns brown, douse with a little stock and deglaze. Return brown-colored liquid to the meat and continue until crust forms again. Repeat deglazing with stock about three times.

Add all meats when chicken and pork are tender and sauce turns brown. Simmer for 15 minutes or until dry, then separate meats. Deglaze pan with stock. Serve sauce on the side and meats separately. (Chef Gene Gonzales on YouTube channel; @chefgenegonzalez on Instagram)

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