NO trip to the Philippines is complete without tasting adobo. Whether made with chicken, pork, beef, fish or even shrimp, adobo is adobo. It holds a place in Filipino hearts much like fish and chips does in Britain – a delicious staple enjoyed in every corner of the country, each version reflecting local flair.
Like many foreigners, my introduction to adobo was chicken – expertly prepared by the Negrense wife of a work colleague at their Manila home in 1979. Since then, I’ve sampled countless variations across the archipelago, each one memorable in its own way.
The Silay Adobo Festival brings together culinary experts, cooking aficionados and budding chefs from all over the Visayas and beyond, challenging them to create new tastes for this tried-and-tested Filipino dish. It forms part of the city’s Cinco de Noviembre celebrations, commemorating the day in 1898 when Negrense revolutionaries, armed with fake guns and cannons, bluffed Spanish forces into surrendering.
The festival was started in 1998 by Lyn Gamboa, a passionate cultural advocate, heritage preservationist and dynamic community leader in Silay and Negros Occidental.
When I entered the festival in 2010, I knew little about adobo. But after a lot of research, I decided to try something a little different: Shrimp Adobo with a curry twist – a nod to the English love of curry. To top it off, I gave it a fancy French name: Adobo Crevette à l’Anglaise – English-style Shrimp Adobo.
Amazingly, it won first prize – one of the biggest surprises of my life! Who would’ve thought? A British version of adobo winning in Silay – clear proof that this iconic Filipino dish thrives on reinvention and crosses culinary borders with ease.
The honor of winning was all the greater knowing the judging panel was chaired by the late, much-admired chef and restaurateur Margarita Flores, recognized in 2016 as Asia’s Best Female Chef.
Adobo Crevette à l’Anglaise
Ingredients:
• ½ kilo fresh medium-sized shrimps, unshelled
• ½ cup vinegar
• ¼ cup water
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• ¼ cup cooking oil
• 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions:
1. Wash shrimps and trim whiskers. Drain.
2. In a pan, combine all ingredients except cooking oil. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Drain shrimps (with garlic) and set aside sauce.
4. Heat oil and fry shrimps and garlic until garlic is golden.
5. Add reserved sauce and sugar. Simmer until sauce thickens.
Curry Sauce
Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2½ cups chicken stock
• ½ tsp garam masala
Instructions:
1 Sauté onion in 1 tbsp butter over low heat until browned. Add garlic and ginger; sauté well. Set aside.
2. In a pot, melt remaining butter. Add flour and cook gently.
3. Stir in curry powder, then gradually add chicken stock, mixing well.
4. Return onion mixture to the pot. Simmer until thickened.
5 Add garam masala just before serving
(After retiring to Bacolod City following a 30-year career with an international beverage company, Robert Harland pursued his passion for cooking, earning a diploma from the University of St. La Salle’s Institute for Culinary Arts in 2008—and becoming the only non-Filipino to win the Silay Adobo Festival competition to date.)
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