Ever dreamed of eating Filipino food again?
In todays special, I will be uncovering one of my favorite Filipino food that are of course vegan! I understand how finding ways to implement veganism into cooking cultural foods may be considered difficult for us Filipinos. From growing up in a Filipino house hold, I found that Filipinos lean towards taste and not what we benefit from the nutritional value of the meal. What we don’t think of everyday is how food can impact the day we eat it, from a few days from now, weeks from now, and so on. So, for this 1-Pot Vegan Filipino Adobo recipe I included some vegetables that would complement this dish entirely. Don’t worry, I will be using the original ingredients that are known to be included to make adobo.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Read on..
Writing this blog post got me thinking, “does anyone actually read these or only bloggers who need inspiration or other online successors who want to collaborate with me?”. I’m just curious that’s all because when I was a pre-blogger I always skipped to the recipe because I didn’t want to spend 5-10 minutes reading a blog about their recipe. I needed to see what ingredients I needed at the grocery market. Now, being a food blogger myself there is a lot of hard work just to write these introductory paragraphs for an insight of the recipe, memory, or story.
My memory
Waking up or coming home to my mom’s cooking would be the highlight of my day. I wouldn’t have known it before, but cooking everyday is a job. You don’t have to just cook it, but you have to buy the groceries ( might even have to go to multiple places), find a recipe or make your own, and clean after! That’s a lot for just one family meal and barely any left overs after. Without knowing it when I was young, my mom made it look so easy. She did occasionally emphasize how time consuming it was and wanted us to at least clean our dishes (which was totally understandable). Although, at the time we didn’t see all of that hard work she put into it. Even if a person enjoys doing something they love, that activity takes energy away from you.
It sucks when you realize later that you don’t see the “behind the scenes”, you don’t see how much a person gives, only the outcome. I wish I could have told her that I am so thankful of how much she did for me and that cooking isn’t just a chore, it is a work of art that is not seen as significant in a household. She passed away in 2017, but every time I cook I think of her.
Cooking is a form of art
Cooking seems so easy to kids when they eat it. However, there is so much more. Cooking or baking food is a form of abstract art, where there are millions of ways to do it, especially vegan. I thought, if I wasn’t so busy with dance classes, friends, school and my problems as a teenager I would have learned more skills and tips from my mom. Although, I use the memory of her and my artistic skills.
What makes this Vegan Filipino Adobo, Traditional Adobo?
The element that makes this vegan recipe different from traditional adobo, is the meat and broth of the adobo. So, that leaves us with incorporating the peppercorns, bay leaves, soy sauce, veggie broth, and white vinegar. These components are the dissimilarity of other traditionally Filipino recipes. Filipino sisig is complementary to this recipe because of the soy sauce and the vinegar.
Like what you see? Here are some other recipes!
- Filipino: Vegan Filipino Tofu Sisig
- Chinese: Vegan Fried Rice
- Side dish for Filipino breakfast: Vegan Tofu Scramble
Steps
Prepare
Start by getting every ingredient on your table. Wash all the veggies and cut them all into a size you prefer. Don’t forget to rinse the starchiness from the potatoes. For the jackfruit, there are seeds in some of the pieces that you have to do a scavenger hunt. Once that is done, use a reusable towel (preferably) or a paper towel to drain any of the excess liquid from the jackfruit.
Cook
This 1-Pot Vegan Filipino Adobo starts with 1 tbsp. of oil, peppercorns, and the bay leaves. This step is important to create the classic adobo taste. While cooking this on a medium heat, make sure you don’t burn the leaves. Keep moving the peppercorns and the bay leaves until the leaves turn brown.
Next, add in the 3 tbsp. of oil along with the onions, garlic, and jackfruit. Sauté for 4 minutes on low to medium heat so that the jackfruit dehydrates. Once that is done, add in all the veggies. Cook for 5 minutes on same heat. This initiates the first cooking stage to the veggies. It will take longer to cook when all of the liquids are added in the end because it takes time to boil enough to cook the veggies entirely. It speeds up the cooking process.
Important part
With whatever reason, do not stir the pot when the white vinegar is added. Pour in the tamari, veggie broth, and lastly the vinegar and close the pot with a lid. Wait for 15 minutes and then you can stir. The 1-pot vegan Filipino adobo is done when the potatoes are cooked through.
That’s it?
Yes! It is a 1-pot vegan Filipino adobo that feeds about 7 people! Enjoy!
Hold On.
There is a lot more recipes that you can find on Pinterest, and hey I am on it too! So don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest and introducing you to new recipes every other day from me and other great vegan food bloggers for inspiration of course! Also, it would mean you are supporting me and I can’t thank you enough!!
On to the 1-Pot Vegan Filipino Adobo
1-Pot Vegan Filipino Adobo
Equipment
- cutting board
- knife
- big pot
- measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 5 bay leaves
- 1.5 tbsp. peppercorns
- 1 onion yellow medium size
- 1 can green jackfruit
- 1 big carrot
- 1 potato
- 1 bell pepper
- 10 oz Tamari low sodium gluten free
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1 extra firm tofu block
- 3 & 3/4 cup vegetable broth better than bouillon vegetable base
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 4 tbsp oil
Instructions
- On a cutting board, cut the carrot, potatoes, bell pepper, and onions into bite sized cubes. In a strainer wash the potatoes to get some of the starch out. For the tofu I cut it into triangular shapes.
- For the jackfruit don’t forget to check for little seeds in the pieces of jackfruit. Once that is done, squeeze or use a towel to drain out the water from the jackfruit. *Don’t have to cut jackfruit*
- In a big pot, Sauté the peppercorns and bay leaves together on medium heat. For 1-2 minutes until the leaves turn a little brown. Be careful, when the peppercorns are on there for a while it will pop out of the pan.
- Throw in the oil, onions, and jackfruit. Sauté for 1 minute on low to medium heat.
- Once the onions are translucent, add in the salt, garlic powder, carrot, potatoes, and bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes and stir. When everything is mixed thoroughly, cover it with a lid for the remaining minutes. .
- When the 5 minutes are up, add in the tofu, tamari, veggie broth, and the white vinegar. DO NOT STIR WHEN WHITE VINEGAR IS ADDED. Let it boil for 15 minutes. The vegan adobo will be done if the potatoes are cooked! Don't forget to stir!! We Filipinos eat it with rice! Enjoy!
Notes
- If you have a trader joes near you, purchase the green jackfruit in Brine 20 ounce can. It has no sugar.
- When adding the vinegar, it is important to leave the vinegar alone and let it sit for 15 minutes so that the adobo won’t be so acidic.
- If you like tempeh rather than tofu, I won’t stop you!
Nutrition
Please create your own pictures like mine, and post them on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest for me to see. Also, add the hashtag #PlantFulfilled! Thank you for the support friends!
Yum! I have been missing adobo sooo much since I stopped eating meat. It was good to have the taste again 🙂
I’m so happy you gave my vegan adobo recipe a chance. I’m so happy you liked it.
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