It tastes like soy sauce and soy sauce.

September 6, 2010 10:58 AM

How do I salvage the ruins of my attempt at vegetarian adobo?

My carnivore-mother already chided me for this culinary endeavor. Now all I have is three eggs, broccoli florets, and green beans swimming in a vinegar/soy sauce solution. It is edible but tastes nothing like real Filipino adobo.

Is there anyway to salvage this? I have a surplus of egg noodles so perhaps a good stir-fry can be had from this disaster.

posted by apophenia to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

Best answer: Yeah, I can't see any reason not to dump the liquid. Maybe just try what you have on rice, ignoring the fact that it had been intended as adobo? Honestly, I'd probably scrap the whole thing, but I'm a bit picky.

Mmmm... adobo would be excellent for dinner tonight. Thanks for the idea.
posted by maryr at 11:24 AM on September 6, 2010

Add some chunks of tofu, maybe? It will soak up some of the juice. And btw, I doubt that your mother is a carnivore...and omnivore, yes, but that argument is for another day...
posted by bolognius maximus at 11:33 AM on September 6, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: maryr - I considered scrapping it, but I would feel bad wasting food or at least the solid parts.

bolognius - She calls herself that!
posted by apophenia at 11:36 AM on September 6, 2010

Couple thoughts:

- Did you put in the other spices (bay leaf, peppercorn, and garlic)?

- Try reducing the sauce and adding a little cornstarch.

- Are the veggies cooked? If not, stir fry separately, then toss with your thickened sauce.
posted by mkultra at 11:42 AM on September 6, 2010

Best answer: Lol, apophenia! What about adding seitan? And here's a recipe for eggplant adobo, which seems interesting, but this one seems more authentic.

Maybe let it sit for a day. Adobo is always better the next day.
posted by bolognius maximus at 12:20 PM on September 6, 2010

Best answer: maryr - I considered scrapping it, but I would feel bad wasting food or at least the solid parts.

You'll waste more food trying to salvage it. Throw it out and make food you're going to enjoy rather than turning this one failed experiment into an endless chore.
posted by John Cohen at 12:53 PM on September 6, 2010

Boil a few potatoes, toss them in and let it sit overnight.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:14 PM on September 6, 2010

Don't boil those potatoes - bake them in their jackets (just slit them all the way around the outside so they don't explode, and sit them right on the oven rack - don't use a baking tray or foil or any of that nonsense). Thicken your vinegar and soy sauce solution with tahini, break open the baked potatoes and saturate their fluffy steaming insides with soy, vinegar and tahini goodness and lots of coarse-ground black pepper. It won't be anything even remotely like adobo but it should make a good meal.
posted by flabdablet at 7:23 PM on September 6, 2010