Comida Chilena-Filipina, part 1

left Seafood Chowder featuring clams, mussels, sea abalone, shrimp, squid, etc. Okay, I did like some dishes...

Santiago, Chile--

It's common knowledge among those who know me in Santiago that I consider the most disappointing aspect of Chilean culture to be its cuisine. Chilean food isn't bad. It's just, shall we say, unremarkable. Ingredients are joined together indiscriminately with no thought whatsoever given to complementarity or contrast. The natural texture of foods is not respected. Salads are shredded, and meat, seafood, and vegetables chronically overcooked and arbitrarily (according to my humble palate) seasoned. I simply don't see the point in adding palta (avocado) to anything and everything. Food-wise, I've been pretty miserable this past year. It's a challenge to prepare anything distinctly Filipino because patis, bagoong, and coconut cream are nowhere to be found. So, lately, I've been amusing myself trying out Filipino recipes using local ingredients.

My must successful Chilean-Filipino recipe is a version of adobo. A few days ago, I made chicken-pork adobo for the despedida of my beloved Hungarian friends Anna and Bulcsu. I spiced it up with a mild paprika because I did not have any black peppercorns. The paprika added a touch of sweetness and spice as well as an attractive brick color to the sauce. Intrigued, I repeated the recipe, this time using merken, a traditional Mapuche chili powder of dried, smoked hot peppers, cilantro, and garlic. The result was, I think, a truly interesting and delicious variation of the traditional recipe.


Adobo a lo Chileno



1/2 kilo cubed pork loin
1/2 kilo chicken thighs and legs
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white, mild vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 large head garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped roughly
10 bay leaves
1 tablespoon merken
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
fresh oregano, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Marinate the chicken and pork in the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, and half the garlic and onion for 30 min.
Add water, and boil meat in marinade at medium heat for 20 minutes or until tender.
In a separate frying pan, saute remaining garlic and onion in oil. Add merken. Remove chicken and pork from the marinade and fry until edges are crispy.
Meanwhile, thicken remaining marinade with mixture of two tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup of cold water. Increase heat and boil until the consistency of gravy is attained.
When meat is ready, transfer to serving platter.
Pour sauce over meat, and serve excess in gravy bowl.
Garnish with finely chopped fresh oregano (optional). Serve with plain, steamed, white Jasmine rice.

The merken does wonders for the adobo. It adds a layer of smokiness, depth of color, and mild spiciness to an otherwise delicious but not very complex dish. I loved it!