QUEEN VICTORIA'S BAKED ADOBO

 by: MisS VictoriA DaviD

Adobo is a very popular Filipino cuisine, which involved stewing with vinegar. In the late 1500s and early 1600s, the Republic of the Philippines was colonised by the Spanish, who encountered an indigenous cooking process, which they then referred to as 'adobo'. A Spanish word for seasoning or marinade.

This is a meal that uses sauce and seasoning on meats. The common way of cooking this recipe is to fry the meat first in oil and add the sauce mixture afterwards.

In this recipe, I grilled the meat and then, baked it in the oven! !

Main Ingredients:

• 3-4 pork chops
• a dash of salt & pepper Grilling

Sauce Ingredients:

• 4 tbsps. of Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsps. of Wine Vinegar
• 2 tsps. of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 ½ tbsps. of Extra Virgin Oil
• 1 teaspoonful of ground pepper
• ¼ tsp. of cayenne pepper
• vegetable stock granules to taste
• a pinch of mixed herbs
• 1 medium-sized onion, cut into 4 (separate each layer)
• 2 cloves of garlic, crashed
• 2 medium- sized potatoes, peeled and cut into 4 

Sauce Preparation and Cooking:

1. In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, wine vinegar, worcestershire sauce and extra virgin oil until well blended.
2. Add the ground pepper, cayenne pepper and vegetable stock granules that serve as additional flavours.
3. Sprinkle the mixed herbs in the mixture. Mix all until well combined.
4. Cook the mixture in a saucepan on a moderate flame for 2 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
5. Add the garlic, onion and the potatoes.
6. Cook again for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Cover the grilled meat with the sauce mixture.

Grilling and Baking Procedure:

1. Thaw your meat, if needed.
2. Preheat the grill to 110ºC.
3. Using your chopping board, place the meat on it and rub it with salt and pepper.
4. Prepare a cooking dish (Pyrex-glass cooking dish is good), grease it with oil and lay the prepared meat on it.
5. Place it under the grill for 30 minutes. Turn it over every 15 minutes to grill the other side. While waiting for the meat, prepare the 'sauce mixture' below.
6. Once the meat is grilled and both sides are cooked, remove from the grill.
7. Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the meat.
8. Place it in the oven and BAKE for 10-15 minutes. Adjust the heat to 90ºC.
9. Once cooked, dish it out of the pyrex-glass and you can use either your choice of traditional food serving bowl or the tomfoolery saucepan to present it on the table.

QUEEN VICTORIA'S BAKED BATTERED AUBERGINE

by: MisS VictoriA DaviD

It was surprisingly tasty...

A soft bulbous shiny purple or white skin that varies in different sizes. Don't be too green as I am talking about a commonly used nightshade vegetable.

Aubergine or in some countries known as eggplant is a nightshade plant closely related to tomato and potato. It is a delicate perennial (more than 2 years) plant that grows in temperate climates of China, India, Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized aubergine
• 2 cloves of garlic, crashed and finely chopped
• 1 small-sized onion, finely chopped
• a dash of mixed herbs
• 2 medium-sized eggs, beaten 
• salt, pepper and vegetable stock granules to taste
• 2 tbsps. of Extra Virgin oil

The aubergine was burntly- grilled that made it easier for me to tear-off its skin and also it cooked some of its pulp. After I have scraped its burnt skin, I divided it into two and crashed each pulp (the size of United Kingdom's aubergine is four times bigger than in Asia) using a fork.

 

Baking Procedure:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150ºC (electric) and then, dazzle the oil into the pyrex glass to cover the bottom .
2. Prepare you marinating mixture by whisking and mixing up together the following ingredients. Such as cloves of garlic, finely choppped onion, mixed herbs, 2 eggs and the condiments.
3. Place the pyrex glass inside the pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes. 
4. While waiting, pour and coat your prepared aubergines with the egg batter mixture in step 2. This is the marinating time!
5. Take-out the pre-heated pyrex glass in the oven and then, lay and arrange your marinated aubergines. Be careful not to touch the surface of the pyrex glass as it will be sizzling hot (NOTA BENE!).
6.  Place it back in the oven and bake it for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Check it every 10-12 minutes or adjust the temperature, if necessary and to avoid burnt food!

*Photo courtesy of topfoodfacts.com