Adobo’s Never-Ending Story
/Review: The Ultimate Filipino Adobo 2nd Edition by Claude Tayag. Anvil Publishing, 2024.
The Ultimate Filipino Adobo: Secrets + Recipes, Second Edition by Claude Tayag – “This book is a mélange of adobo memories, part two, the continuation of the first edition of The Ultimate Filipino Adobo. Readers will be in for another treat as they will savor more adobo stories simmering in savory, never-yet-heard splendor.” (blurb by Elizabeth Ann Quirino, cookbook author, and food writer).
Claude Tayag, a native of Angeles, Pampanga, is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, bestselling author, television host, and accomplished artist of various mediums launched his newest book: The Ultimate Filipino Adobo: Secrets + Recipes, Second Edition.
While the first edition of The Ultimate Filipino Adobo proved that there are as many adobo versions as there are over 7,600 Philippine islands, the second edition reinforces even more that there is no standard recipe for the beloved Filipino adobo. Even better, the memories around this unofficial national Philippine dish are never-ending.
Readers of this second edition will be treated to another round of heaping adobo stories, recipe ideas, tips, testimonials, and memories from chefs, restaurant owners, home cooks, culinary experts, and even non-Filipino celebrities.
Binalot, a serving of the classic adobo wrapped in banana leaves with rice and side vegetables (
There’s food for the soul, too. For music enthusiasts, an adobo hymn’s music sheet is included at the beginning -- Adobo ni Inang with music and lyrics by Nonoy Gallardo, as sung by Celeste Legaspi.
The coffee table book is in a magnificently bound soft cover, with over 216 pages of Filipino adobo stories and full color photos – from pre-Hispanic times to modern day versions using every possible protein ingredient -- all compiled by Chef Claude Tayag himself, during his travels and conversations in different cities, countries, and practically every nook in the world there’s a simmering cauldron of adobo. Even from faraway Norway, a fascinating set of adobo anecdotes were sent to Claude.
Expect the same exceptional book quality from the publishing dream team of author Tayag, designers Ige Ramos and JP Meneses, and editor Michaela Fenix, but with more food photos on its glossy pages accompanied by never-before-told food stories contributed by adobo aficionados peppered all over.
National Artist BenCab’s Grilled Chicken and Pork Adobo as recreated by Chef Claude Tayag.
Does Claude ever run out of adobo stories? He responded, “As you've articulated in your blurb, the Philippine adobo is a ‘never-ending story.’ Just like the dish itself, it just gets better and better every passing day. Adobo stories just keep popping up, whether in media, books, actual eating in restaurants, and interviews with Filipinos. Each person has an adobo story to tell, and by sharing it, they are brought back to their childhood, recalling the meals they had with their lolas (grandmas), nanays (mothers), even yayas (nannies). It connects past, present and future generations. That's the power adobo has in us Filipinos. “
“Why a second edition?” I asked Claude Tayag. His response was timeless.
“The second edition of The Ultimate Filipino Adobo reinforces everything I’ve written in the first, and a lot more. With an addition of more than 30 adobo stories, as well as anecdotes and testimonies by some internationally known non-Filipino celebrities, the popularity and universal appeal of the Filipino adobo is indisputable. It has fast become a byword in world gastronomy.”
Like the classic Filipino adobo dish, these anecdotes are best remembered many days after.
“And like the adobo your mother cooks, the stories’ flavors mellow in time, the tart sourness of descriptions turn smooth, and if you close your eyes in reverie, the garlic aromas stay indelible in your thoughts.”
And like the adobo your mother cooks, the stories’ flavors mellow in time, the tart sourness of descriptions turn smooth, and if you close your eyes in reverie, the garlic aromas stay indelible in your thoughts. All these to be savored in our adobo memories again and again, time after time.
• The Ultimate Filipino Adobo: Stories + Recipes from the Heart – Second Edition (Anvil Publishing, Philippines 2024) will be available May 2024 in all National Bookstores. For online orders in the Philippines: Lazada, Shopee, and Bale Dutung +639502475420 or aishame.ph@gmail.com.
• Availability in the USA to be announced soon.
All photos courtesy of Chef Claude Tayag
Elizabeth Ann Quirino, is an award-winning journalist, food writer, and cookbook author. Her new book is Every Ounce of Courage, a memoir, is now available. Find her on TheQuirinoKitchen.com.
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