What Is Filipino Adobo? And Can You Get It in Halifax?
What Filipino adobo is, why every family makes it differently, and a straight answer on getting adobo in Halifax: not on the Barrios menu, but part of our Sunday brunch rotation.
Barrios Restaurant & Bar
10/19/20263 min read
What Is Filipino Adobo? And Can You Get It in Halifax?
Adobo is one of the Filipino dishes most people have heard of, and the one Filipinos argue about most. It is often called the unofficial national dish of the Philippines, and almost every Filipino family has its own way of making it.
Can you get adobo in Halifax at Barrios?
Adobo is not on the regular menu at Barrios Kitchen & Bar, our Filipino restaurant at 1571 Barrington Street. It is part of our Sunday brunch rotation, so it turns up on some Sundays, but it is never guaranteed on a given Sunday. If adobo is the reason you are coming, message us on Facebook or Instagram, or call 902-444-2515, and ask whether it is planned before you book.
What is Filipino adobo?
At its simplest, adobo is meat simmered in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and whole black peppercorns until the sauce cooks down. Chicken, pork, or both together are the most common. The result is tangy, salty and garlicky. It is usually not chili-hot, though some cooks add chilies.
It is made to be eaten with plain white rice. The sauce is strong on its own, and the rice is what balances it.
Is adobo Spanish or Filipino?
The name is Spanish. It comes from adobar, to marinate, and Spanish writers used it for the dish they found in the islands. The cooking is Filipino. Most food historians believe people in the islands were cooking meat in vinegar and salt before Spanish rule, as a way to keep it from spoiling in a hot climate. Soy sauce, from Chinese cooking, became part of most versions over time. Mexican and Spanish adobo, made with chilies or paprika, are different dishes that share the name.
Why every family's adobo is different
Ask five Filipinos how to make adobo and you will get five recipes, each one described as the correct one. Some of the best-known versions:
Adobong puti, or white adobo, made with vinegar, salt and garlic and no soy sauce.
Adobo sa gata, finished with coconut milk, common in Quezon and Bicol. Quezon, our chef Nino's home province, is coconut country, and coconut milk goes into a lot of its cooking.
Adobong dilaw, a yellow adobo coloured with turmeric, associated with Batangas.
Adobong pusit, squid cooked with its ink.
Adobong kangkong, water spinach cooked adobo-style, a vegetable version.
Families also split on smaller things. Some add a little sugar. Some cook the sauce right down until it clings to the meat, others leave plenty to spoon over rice. Some brown the meat at the end for crisp edges. Many cooks follow the old rule of not stirring the pot after the vinegar goes in until it comes to a boil, so the sharp edge cooks off.
Adobo keeps well, and plenty of people say it tastes better the next day. Leftovers often end up in adobo fried rice.
If you like sour and salty: our regular menu
None of these is adobo, and the vinegar mostly comes in the dip rather than the pot. But if you like the sour, salty, garlicky side of Filipino food, start here:
Chicken inasal, $22. Grilled chicken marinated in citrus, garlic and spices, with garlic rice, a soy vinegar dip and pickled daikon and carrots.
Crispy pata, $27. Pork hocks simmered in spices until tender, then deep-fried, with our homemade soy vinegar dip.
Beef tapa, $18. Thin-sliced beef marinated in soy sauce and spices with calamansi or lemon, pan-fried, with garlic rice, two eggs and vinegar on the side.
Sunday brunch
Sunday brunch runs every Sunday from 10:30 AM to 4 PM. It costs $29 per adult, $15 for children 12 and under, and children 5 and under eat free. The breakfast side is the same every week, with tocino, longganisa, pandesal and siomai. The lunch side rotates at the chef's choice. Adobo is part of that rotation, along with Filipino favourites like pork or chicken afritada, a tomato stew with potatoes and bell peppers, menudo, pork and liver in tomato sauce, and sinigang. No single dish is guaranteed on a given Sunday. Reservations are recommended.
Visit Barrios
We are at 1571 Barrington Street, open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 AM, until 9 PM Tuesday to Thursday and 11 PM on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is brunch only, and we are closed on Mondays. Book a table or call 902-444-2515. The full menu is online. Prices shown are from our current menu and may change.
Quick answers
Does Barrios serve adobo?
Not on the regular menu. It is part of the Sunday brunch rotation, but it is not guaranteed on a given Sunday. Call or message before you come for it.
Is Filipino adobo spicy?
Usually not. It is tangy, salty and garlicky. Any heat usually comes from chili added by the cook or on the side.
What is in Filipino adobo?
Meat, usually chicken or pork, simmered in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black peppercorns. Every family adjusts it.
Is Filipino adobo the same as Mexican adobo?
No. They share a Spanish name, but Filipino adobo is built on vinegar and soy, while Mexican adobo is a chili-based sauce.