Beef Adobo

I think this is particularly good with bone-in beef, but it is not required.  

It's funny how one's taste evolves over the years; I think I'm getting to the point where if I am served a meat dish with no vinegar in it I feel like something vital is missing. Well, it's not missing here. It's also interesting to me to compare this dish, the result of Asian colonization by people from the Iberian peninsula, with the other such dish I made a little while ago. It's a Spanish-Filipino fusion, rather than a Portuguese-Indian one, and while there are points of similarity it's also pretty different. I don't think I could tell you which one I like better; they're different moods but I don't think I'd ever be sorry to see one of them on the table.

 

4 servings

2 hours to overnight marinade time

20 minutes prep time

2 hours cook time

 

 

2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger

3 or 4 cloves of garlic

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

freshly ground black pepper to taste

500 grams (1 pound) stewing beef

OR 900 grams (2 pounds) stewing beef with bones

2 or 3 medium onions

2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil

Peel and grate the ginger; peel and grate the garlic. Put them in a container which can be covered and which will hold the beef. Mix with the remaining marinade ingredients. Marinate the beef for 2 hours to overnight in the fridge. 

Peel, trim, and cut the onions in quarters, then in slices (quarter rings).

 

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Cook the onions in it until soft, stirring regularly. Add the beef, with the marinade. Cook gently for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the marinade slowly evaporates and the beef fries and browns slightly in the residual oil. It's best to get it started with a lid on it, then let the liquid reduce faster towards the end of the cooking time. Let the adobo rest 5 minutes before serving. 

Last year at this time I made Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Peas & Paprika Cream Sauce.