The Happy Home Cook: Adobong Kangkong with Talong

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Adobong Talong with Kangkong (Photo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino)

Our parents and grandparents often told us stories about how food was cooked during the years of World War II in the Philippines from 1941 to 1945. Ingredients and food supplies were scarce. Dishes needed to be cooked quickly. Vegetables grown in backyards were used for quick meals. Kangkong or water spinach was often a main ingredient. This Adobong Kangkong with Talong is an improved version of what mothers used to cook back in those days. This dish is familiar to many Filipinos. The word adobo evokes the combination of a vinegar, soy sauce stew lavished with a lot of garlic and black pepper. This entree is a vegetable version of adobo. The main ingredients were long, shiny Asian eggplants and a lot of fresh spinach. As in our parents’ time during WWII, this vegetable dish is good served with steamed rice. This is an Asian in America recipe. Serves 2 to 4.

Ingredients

vegetable oil - 4 Tablespoons

garlic - 4 cloves, minced

onion - 1 medium, sliced

Heinz vinegar - 1/2 cup (or use white vinegar )

soy sauce - 1/4 cup

vegetable broth - 1/2 cup (or water)

black peppercorns - 1/2 teaspoon

bay leaf - 1 piece

Asian eggplants - 2 to 3 pieces, sliced, about 2 cups (from Asian markets, or use aubergines)

water spinach or kangkong - 2 to 3 cups, washed, stems trimmed (from Asian markets or use regular fresh spinach)

salt - 1/2 teaspoon

black pepper powder - 1 teaspoon

steamed white jasmine rice - for serving

Procedure

• In a large skillet, over medium high heat, add the cooking oil. Sauté the garlic and onions for 1 minute till softened.

• In a separate small bowl, mix the soy sauce, vinegar, broth, bay leaf, black peppercorns. Blend well and add into the skillet with the sautéed garlic and onions. Let the adobo liquid simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes.

• Add the sliced eggplants to the adobo sauté. Continue cooking eggplants till they are cooked for about 8 minutes. Add the spinach and stir into the rest of the ingredients. When the spinach cooks in 1 minute and the leaves start to look wilted, turn off the heat. Season with black pepper powder and a pinch of salt. Serve warm with steamed jasmine white rice

Adobong Talong with Kangkong (Photo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino)

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Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Elizabeth Ann Quirino, based in New Jersey is a journalist and author of the “How to Cook Philippine Desserts: Cakes and Snacks” Cookbook. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and blogs about Filipino home cooking on her site AsianInAmericaMag.com.

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