New York Times Pork Ribs Adobo?

There has been some controversy recently about Western chefs presuming to adopt or, heaven forbid, adapt traditional Asian recipes.  I think the latest eruption concerned some Western guy telling us how to make Vietnamese pho.  Not unnaturally, he was invited to do something that sounded awfully like the dish he had pirated!

The finished product!

So, it was with some trepidation that I decided to try the Pork Ribs Adobo recipe (resulting in the above) that was published by the New York Times under the moniker of Julia Moskin.  Regee had featured this recipe on her Facebook page.  Have a look at the website where I found it.

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11283-pork-ribs-adobo?smid=fb-nytdining&smtyp=cur




When I looked through the recipe, I noticed the following at the bottom:

Adapted from "Memories of Philippine Kitchens" by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan.

Courtesy lutonilola.net

Omigosh, this was a recipe created by Amy and Romy, of Cendrillon and Purple Yam fame.  In fact, when I looked at the blurb accompanying the recipe, I saw that Julia Moskin had written an article when the book first came out in 2006.  Have a look at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/dining/01asia.html

Now that I knew the true authorship of the recipe, I picked up our treasured (and signed) copy of "Memories of Philippine Kitchens" which always sits on our family room coffee table.  I turned to page 34 and there was the original Baby-Back Ribs Adobo recipe.  Now I felt a lot better.  I would be using the original recipe which, in truth, Julia Moskin had faithfully followed.

So, have a look at the little photo essay which follows on the making of this superb dish. Thanks to Amy and Romy (and Julia Moskin) for helping this wannabe Filipino to cook the most famous of all Pinoy dishes.  I promise you that it was AWESOME!!

First, a little bit of mise en place which Regee has insisted is absolutely essential.  I resisted for years but, yes, it does make life much simpler!  I cut up the pork back ribs (not sure they were "baby" ones) and, for the marinade, used Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar which is unfiltered and contains "the mother," a cloudy substance that actually makes the vinegar taste even better.  As I was cooking this for my daughter, Sarah, I used Gluten-Free Soy Sauce and chucked in two tablespoons instead of one just in case the GF stuff was not as powerful as the original.

The original recipe calls for a mortar and pestle.  I searched all over the house because I know we have one somewhere.  No luck.  So, I resorted to a small food processor to crush the garlic, Balinese sea salt and Organic Tellicherry Black Peppercorns.  I discovered that small food processors don't like black peppercorns.  So, I was forced to take them outside, put them in a Ziploc bag and beat them with a hammer out on the deck.  (I followed my father's enduring advice: when all else fails, use force)!

I rubbed the resulting garlic, salt and pepper "paste" into the ribs which were then placed in a Ziploc bag.

Then you pour in the marinade which was made up of 1 cup of the Braggs vinegar mentioned above, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 jalapeño peppers (some like it hot!) and 3 bay leaves.  I left it to marinate for 7 hours in the fridge, turning them over from time to time.

Then I cheated a little bit.  The recipe tells you to bring the pork ribs and marinade to a boil and then to simmer until tender.  Instead, I used my beloved Instant Pot electric pressure cooker (thanks Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo fame) which takes 35 minutes to make any meat lusciously tender and almost falling off the bone.  I reckon it saves you some two hours of simmering.  Hey, we are in the 21st century and can't hang around!

Next you reduce the marinade to a sticky, delicious, thumb-licking mess.  I actually only used half the marinade because it was taking too long to reduce the whole lot.  Because it was so sticky, I used some of the great red wine I was drinking to deglaze the pan.  I have to say that the unauthorized addition of a magnificent red from the Snake River Valley in Idaho (yes, IDAHO!!), gives this classic adobo dish an even bigger kick.  I am probably committing a culinary crime and Filipinos everywhere will be up in arms.  But you have to taste it before killing me.  Amy and Romy, my groveling apologies!

The final touch.  Brush on the sticky, hot, pepper-rich, Idaho-flavored reduced marinade and place on a baking sheet for broiling.  I did 4 minutes on one side and then turned them over for another 4 minutes.  Perfection.

What can I say?  If you follow a superb recipe faithfully (well, except for hammering the peppercorns!), you will get a superb dish.  The pork back ribs (less than $8.00 from Giant) had been miraculously transformed into something that could be served at Malacanang Palace.  Sarah, Jane and I polished off nine out of twelve ribs and could hardly move afterwards.  I served those ridiculously luscious ribs with grilled brussels sprouts, butternut squash and walnuts.  And rice, siempre!!

Please try Amy and Romy's recipe.  You will not be disappointed.  In fact, you will be transported straight to the Philippines.  If you are olredi in the Philippines, you will be transported straight to heaven!