White adobo(adobong puti) is a traditional Filipino dish of stewed meat or other ingredient cooked in vinegar made since ancient times. Vinegar and salt were important ingredients to preserved food. Modern adobo often includes soy sauce, but white adobo simply uses salt instead, more like adobo was made in ancient times. Without soy sauce it looks lighter in color, so it’s called white adobo(adobong puti).

Adobo traditionally simmers in an unglazed clay pot(palayok), absorbing flavor and tenderizing. The name adobo comes from the Spanish word adobo for a somewhat similar dish, though Filipino adobo predates Spanish contact; if there was an old name for the dish it has essentially been lost, yet the technique lives on. Dried laurel bay leaves were introduced by the Spanish.

Here, mushroom is used, though meat or other ingredients can be cooked the same way with adjusted cooking time. Button mushroom, portobello mushroom, and oyster mushroom work well. Termite mushroom is a local variety from the Philippines that works well. Mushroom doesn’t need to simmer as long as meat, so feel free to serve as soon as the mushrooms are fully cooked if in a hurry. A clay cooking pot is not required, but may be a fun challenge to remember the ancient adobo way.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 clove garlic(bawang)
• 2 – 4 shallot or scallion or ½ onion(sibuyas), chopped
• 4 cup fresh mushroom(kabute)
• 1 tsp salt(asin)
• 1 tsp black pepper(paminta), ground
• 1 bay leaf(laurel) (optional)
• 1 tsp unrefined cane sugar (optional)
• 4 tbsp coconut vinegar(sukang tuba)

Directions

• saute garlic, shallot
• add mushroom
• add vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, bay leaf
• boil
• simmer covered until tender and liquid reduced, about 30 minutes
• serve