ADOBONG TALONG AND AMPALAYA

ADOBONG TALONG AND AMPALAYA. Here I'm cooking eggplant (talong) and bitter melon (ampalaya) together in simple adobo style.

Both talong and ampalaya originated in India and are widely grown in Southeast Asia. Talong is a good source of potassium, which helps to regulate blood pressure and heart function. Ampalaya is a good source of Vitamin A and C, calcium, phosphorous and iron.

Adobo which is originally a pork or chicken dish, is considered the Philippine's national dish. But adobo is not Filipino in origin, it is Mexican, that originated in Spain thousands of years ago.

The word 'adobo' comes from the Spanish word 'adobar' which means to marinate, pickle or cure. As always, there is no one and only recipe for adobo.

Spanish adobo is a pickling sauce made by cooking together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, thyme, laurel, oregano, paprika and salt.

Mexican adobo is a paste typically containing red guajillo chillies, spices, herbs and vinegar. It is rubbed on meat, fish or chicken.

A dish prepared this way is called 'adobado'. Filipino adobo is a combination of chicken or pork cooked in a pickling mixture of vinegar, garlic, bay leaf and peppercorn. Later, soy sauce was introduced by the Chinese traders.

There are many vegetables that can be cooked adobo style, such as talong and ampalaya. In my cooking, I often feature different kinds of adobong gulay (vegetable adobo) recipes because the taste is so close to home.


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