In this month’s Lina’s Kitchen we cover Carabao Adobo Sa Gata, (buffalo adobe with coconut milk), an extra special adobo from Samar that incorporates Bicol cooking techniques. This dish is from Lina’s soon to be released Filipino recipe e-book, Lina’s Kitchen - Filipino Cooking at its Best.

Carabao Adobo Sa Gata

This tasty dish originates from Northern Samar but uses cooking techniques more common across the San Bernardino Straits in the Bicol region of Luzon Island. While the dish begins by preparing a ‘standard’ adobo, the Bicol influence becomes most noticeable when siling labuyo, the fiery small local chilies are added to the mixture, and the adobo meat is then slowly re-cooked in gata (coconut milk).

Traditionally you use only fresh ingredients that you prepare yourself, such as scraping and squeezing the cream from the meat of a fresh coconut; however, if you want to reduce some of the preparation time I have included the option of more modern alternatives such as canned coconut cream. For my recipe though I stick close to the traditional ingredients, I like to add a couple of sprigs of fresh oregano as I find that it really enhances the tangy mixed flavors of this dish.

Most ingredients are easy to obtain wherever you are in the world, with the one exception being the meal’s main protein, Carabao (water buffalo). While this meat is easily obtained in the Philippines – where it is actually much cheaper than beef – you may have difficulty obtaining it elsewhere. Happily, as this recipe calls for both slow and double cooking of the meat, worldwide alternatives include some of the cheapest cuts of standard beef: braising, London, or flack steak. This said, if you are lucky enough to be in a country where venison or similar wild meat is cheaply available, you may want to try this to add a little gamey flavor.  

Although the overall cooking time of this meal is rather long, as the techniques used are basic and the ingredients forgiving of a little overcooked, it is an ideal dish for a novice Filipino cook who wants to make something a bit different and special.

Ingredients

• 1 Kilo Carabao meat (or alternative) cut into approx 3 cm (1”) chunks

• 8 tablespoons of palm vinegar (but any white vinegar can be used)

• 3 cloves of crushed garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon rough-ground black pepper

• 2 to 3 sprigs of oregano  

• 2 – 5 chopped small chilies (to personal taste)

• Meat from 2 coconuts  (to give approx 1 Kilo of fresh coconut meat) OR 1 can thick coconut cream

• Water

Preparation

Place together the meat, salt, pepper, crushed garlic and vinegar in a large pan. Place a top on the pan and put the pan on a medium heat until the liquid begins to boil.

When the liquid boils, stir the mixture and add in one cup of cold water. Cover the pan and place back on the heat until it boils again. When the mixture boils, stir until the liquid is almost boiled off. When there is almost no liquid left, add another cup of cold water.

Continue to boil, stir and simmer in this way until the meat is very tender. (Depending on your cuts of meat this generally takes around two hours.)

(Note: If using fresh coconut meat, place in a muslin cloth and squeeze out the coconut cream.)

Over a medium heat, add the coconut cream and stir in to the meat mixture. Keep stirring the mixture until the coconut begins to boil off.

When you are down to about half of the liquid remaining, stir in the oregano and chilies, turn the heat down and simmer while stirring until there is only a little thick liquid remaining. At this point, turn off heat and place a cover over the pan till ready to serve.

(NOTE: if you prefer a ‘wetter’ dish, add in a little more coconut milk and re-boil the mixture).   

Serve hot over boiled white rice with chilies and fresh oregano sprigs as garnish.

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