We at Nolisoli.ph are big fans of any meal that requires less work but with maximum flavor, appeal and bang for buck. We’ve looked for inspiration from various homecooks, chefs, Martha Stewart and Julia Child disciples and food publications local and abroad—Bon Appétit included. But with the recent turn of events at the magazine’s editorial and administrative teams, we had to reevaluate our adoration.
Months after the exposé about the institutionalized racism at the magazine’s workplace, here we are grappling with whether or not to embrace back a once-favorite brand—and, of course, missing our Test Kitchen faves, who have since bowed out of BA’s video series.
But not all hope is gone. Just yesterday, Aug. 25, Sohla El-Waylly, who figured at the center of the racial discrimination issue, is back with a recipe for BA’s Basically. And it’s not just any recipe: Sohla made adobong talong(!).
You could definitely count on Filipino fans to go crazy over a Westerner’s very mention of either: balut, mango or adobo. But more than just that, it’s the fact that Sohla (one of our faves) thoughtfully recreated a Filipino recipe, and has somehow gotten on the right foot of the touchy internet food culture (touché).
She did not make the OG chicken or pork adobo but created a version with eggplant as the base with added ground pork. In an Instagram post, she describes the dish as a traditional method of “simmering pork, chicken, or vegetables in vinegar and soy with bay leaves and lots of black pepper,” which will result in a dark and richly flavored sauce.
We love this recipe because it is reminiscent of adobong kangkong or sitaw, a beloved vegetarian version of adobo in many Filipino households.
[READ: In case you didn’t know, white adobo was the original, pre-hispanic adobo]The recipe, available on Basically, references New York-based restaurateurs Nicole Ponseca and Miguel Trinidad of Maharlika and Jeepney restaurants. In their book “I Am a Filipino: And This is How We Cook,” adobo is defined as “anything cooked in vinegar. […] Depending on the region, the province, the city, or even the cook, the dish changes due to the Philippines’ own ocean-to-farm-to-table foodways.” Basically also did a feature on our local vinegar varieties.
It would take a systemic change in Bon Appétit’s management to woo us all back but for now, this adobo recipe by Sohla will do.
Header photo courtesy of Sohla El-Waylly on Instagram
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Read more:
Here’s how to cook all the adobo featured in the new ‘Chef’s Table’-inspired DOT-Jollibee campaign
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