Adobo

.If you happen to visit the Caribbean, make sure that you try some chicken, pork, or fish adobo. Adobo is, essentially, a slowly cooked meat dish containing a tempting array of fresh and aromatic spices. Adobo is particularly popular throughout the Caribbean due to the Latin roots that run strongly through this island nation’s heart.

Adobo is usually made from garlic, bay leaves, soy sauce, vinegar, black peppercorns, salt, and tumeric. In short, adobo is really comparable to North American barbeque sauce, but the way that this dish is cooked makes all the difference. Caribbean adobo is slow roasted for many hours until the meat falls off the bone, or until the fish literally melts in your mouth. When you order adobo in the Caribbean, you will be presented with a plate of rice as well, which is meant to go underneath your adobo in order to create a truly hearty meal.

Caribbean chefs rub the adobo spice blend onto the poultry, pork, or fish, and the spices are then left alone to simmer in a slow over for quite a long period of time. After the dish is ready, some chefs will even take the meat and transfer it to a pan in order to gain a crisp skin. When tourists walk by a restaurant serving adobo, it is hard to turn away from the deeply colored meat that can be seen from most restaurant windows. Also, some chefs will choose to use coconut milk towards the end of the adobo process in order to give the dish an extra rich quality. In much the same way that Caribbean jerk is an essential part of the Caribbean diet, adobo is usually the first dish that most chefs are taught, which makes adobo authentically Caribbean.