If you’ve never cooked adobo before and want to know about the different ingredients of adobo, keep reading this article.
The main seasoning ingredients of adobo are: soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and bay leaves. Sometimes, salt is used instead of soy sauce, while others also like to add ginger as well as sugar when cooking adobo.
Curious for more? Keep reading.
Does Filipino Adobo Have Soy Sauce
These days, the most popular way of cooking adobo is using soy sauce. Not only is it the seasoning ingredient that gives the dish a salty taste, but the bold color of soy sauce is prefered by many because it makes the dish look more appetizing.
However, adobo is actually a dish that originally made use of salt. When the malay people cooked adobo, they used salt, simply because soy sauce hasn’t been introduced to Filipinos yet. Once soy sauce was brought to the Philippines by the Chinese, the use of soy sauce became mainstream, and largely replaced salt when cooking adobo.
How Much Soy Sauce Should I Add To Adobo
Usually, if you are using a recipe that serves 4 people, you can use about 2 2/3 tablespoons of soy sauce in adobo. The table below is a guide on approximately how many tablespoons of soy sauce should be added to the adobo you’re making:
| # Of Adobo Servings | Amount of Soy Sauce in Tablespoons |
| 1 | ⅔ Tablespoon |
| 2 | 1 ⅓ Tablespoons |
| 4 | 2 ⅔ Tablespoons |
| 6 | 4 Tablespoons |
| 8 | 5 ⅓ Tablespoons |
Although the table above could be used as a guide on how much soy sauce you can add to adobo, it should be noted that you can adjust it to taste, and it’s not a hard and fast rule that you should use these exact amounts when cooking your adobo. As usual, use your best judgement when adding this ingredient in seasoning your adobo.
How Is Soy Sauce Used In Adobo
Soy sauce is used two different ways in making adobo. Here are two different ways that soy sauce is used in making adobo:
Marinade
The first way to use soy sauce in making adobo is to marinade your meat of choice in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaf and whole peppercorns. If you choose to marinade your meat first, you can keep this mixture of the marinade and the meat in the fridge for about 2-4 days.
Marinading the meat behorehand for atleast an hour will result in a flavorful adobo dish and will also tenderize the meat of your choice.
Boiling the meat in soy sauce
The second way soy sauce is used in adobo is to boil the meat of your choice (usually either chicken, pork, or both) in soy sauce. This also results in the flavor seeping into the meat, giving it the signature adobo taste. However, in my opinion, marinading the meat before boiling is the best practice for tasty adobo.
Does Adobo Have Vinegar
One of the main ingredients of adobo is vinegar. If adobo doesn’t have vinegar, I don’t believe it can be called adobo.
Cooking in salt and vinegar has been a long-standing practice in the indigenous people of the Philippines. It is said that using salt and vinegar to cook meats helped preserve the dish during times when refrigerators were not available. Another way that using vinegar helps elevate the dish is that the vinegar is used to tenderize the meat.
How Much Vinegar Should I Add To Adobo
Usually, if you are using a recipe that serves 4 people, you can use about 4 tablespoons of soy sauce in adobo. In general, you will need more vinegar in proportion to the soy sauce in order to make adobo. The table below is a guide on approximately how many tablespoons of vinegar should be added to the adobo you’re making:
| # Of Adobo Servings | Amount of Vinegar in Tablespoons |
| 1 | 1 Tablespoon |
| 2 | 2 Tablespoons |
| 4 | 4 Tablespoons |
| 6 | 6 Tablespoons |
| 8 | 8 Tablespoons |
Although the table above could be used as a guide on how much vinegar you can add to adobo, it should be noted that you can adjust it to taste, and it’s not a hard and fast rule that you should use these exact amounts when cooking your adobo. As usual, use your best judgement when adding this ingredient in seasoning your adobo.
How Is Vinegar Used In Adobo
Vinegar is used two different ways in making adobo. Here are two different ways that vinegar is used in making adobo:
Marinade
The first way to use vinegar in making adobo is to marinade your meat of choice in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaf and whole peppercorns. If you choose to marinade your meat first, you can keep this mixture of the marinade and the meat in the fridge for about 2-4 days.
Marinading the meat behorehand for atleast an hour will result in a flavorful adobo dish and will also tenderize the meat of your choice.
Boiling the meat in soy sauce
The second way to use vinegar in making adobo is to boil the meat of your choice (usually either chicken, pork, or both) in vinegar. Some people choose to boil the vinegar in a pot before adding all the ingredients. However, some people (like my mom) like to add vinegar to the pot at the very end and then letting the vinegar simmer for a minute or two before mixing and turning off the heat. This method of ‘simmering off the vinegar taste’ is quite common when making adobo.
What type of vinegar to use in adobo
There are many different types of vinegar you can use in making adobo. Some of these types are:
- Cane vinegar
- White Vinegar
- Apple Cider Vinegar
Does Adobo Have Garlic
How Much Garlic To Add To Adobo
Usually, if you are using a recipe that serves 4 people, you can use about 1 1/3 tablespoons of garlic in adobo. The table below is a guide on approximately how many tablespoons of garlic should be added to the adobo you’re making:
| # Of Adobo Servings | Amount of Garlic |
| 1 | ⅓ Clove |
| 2 | ⅔ Clove |
| 4 | 1 ⅓ Cloves |
| 6 | 2 Cloves |
| 8 | 2 ⅔ Cloves |
Although the table above could be used as a guide on how much garlic you can add to adobo, it should be noted that you can adjust it to taste, and it’s not a hard and fast rule that you should use these exact amounts when cooking your adobo. As usual, use your best judgement when adding this ingredient in seasoning your adobo.
How Is Garlic Used In Adobo
Garlic is added to the marinade before actually cooking adobo to ensure the meat is tenderized and flavorful. It is also added in the pot of adobo once you start cooking adobo.
Garlic is used in adobo to give the dish an appetizing, savory flavour. In essence, garlic is used to season the dish.