Vegan Filipino-Style Adobo (Adobong Sa Achuete)
Servings 3 people
Equipment
- large sauté pan with lid
- Spatula
- sharp knife & cutting board
- small mixing bowl & sauce bowl
- tiny whisk
Ingredients
ACHUETE OIL
- 2 tbsp cooking oil (such as vegetable or canola)
- 2 tsp achuete or annato powder
FOR THE SOY BROTH
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
- ⅓ cup cane vinegar
- ¼ cup vegetable broth (see notes)
- ½ tbsp brown or white sugar
FOR THE DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 block (14oz) extra-firm tofu pressed & patted dry
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ small (¼ cup) yellow onions diced
- 1 small (⅓ cup) carrot thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup red skinned potatoes diced
- 2-3 pieces dried bay leaves
- 2 tsp whole peppercorn
- salt & pepper to taste
- ½ tbsp oil (for frying tofu)
OPTIONAL TOPPING
- garlic crisp (see notes for preparation)
Instructions
FOR THE ACHUETE OIL
- Using a sauce bowl, whisk together achuete powder and oil until lumps are gone. Set aside for later use.
FOR THE SOY BROTH
- Using a small mixing bowl, pour liquid ingredients such as the soy sauce, vinegar, vegetable broth, and sugar. Whisk together until well combined. Set aside.
FOR THE DRY INGREDIENTS & ADOBO PREPARATION
- Preheat stovetop and sauté pan to medium heat.
- Pat dry tofu and make sure to press as much excess liquid as you can. Dice into bite sized cubes. Season with a pinch of salt & pepper on each side.
- Once the pan is fully heated, coat with ½ a tablespoon of oil. Pan fry tofu on each side until it is golden brown. You don't have to make it super crispy, just enough to give it color.
- Remove tofu from the pan. Then, using the achuete oil, coat the pan until it is heated.
- Saute garlic into the achuete oil until fragrant. Then add the onions, carrots, bay leaves, and potatoes. Stir then let it sit for at least 6-8 minutes or until potatoes have softened, stirring it in between occasionally.
- Toss the tofu back into the mix. Along with the black peppercorn. Season with a pinch of salt. Stir and let it sit for another 4-5 minutes turning the heat down to medium low. Gradually add half of the broth to simmer.
- Allow the ingredients to simmer in broth until it slightly reduces and tofu has absorbed some of the liquids. Stir occasionally. Turn the heat to low and add the remaining broth. Let it simmer, once more, with the lid covered for about 4-6 minutes or when potatoes & carrots have slightly softened.
- Turn off heat. Top with garlic crisps (optional)
Notes
- For the garlic crisp: Preheat a frying pan on medium heat and generously coat in oil (about ⅓ inch deep). Toss in the minced garlic (about 6 cloves or 2 tbsp) to slowly fry and stir around every minute to prevent it from burning. If you wish to add heat, add a tablespoon of red pepper flakes into the oil and stir. Continuously stir until garlic becomes golden brown and crispy. Be careful, if you feel that your stove top is getting too hot, lower down the heat. Over frying the garlic will make it bitter. This process may take between 5-10 minutes depending on your stove top. Strain garlic from the oil and let it cool. It will crisp up as it cools down.
- For the vegetable broth: I stirred two tablespoon of vegetable paste + 1/4 cup water to create veggie broth. You can always use regular vegetable broth or an equivalent with a vegan / chick'n bouillon cube.