Adobo Short Ribs

When I interview a chef for our blog I like to learn about them. I want to share their culture, their food and how they came to choose their career. Most importantly, considering my love for music, what they like to listen to.

With that being stated, I would like to begin my blog journey to the Philippines, by quoting one of my favorite lyricists, Bob Dylan. "He who is not busy being born is busy dying”. Speaking for myself, this blog is giving me a sense of rebirth. I am getting to experience cooking in a fresh way. What may seem "simple," but simple has proven to be delicious and elegant yet again.

I was surprised when I received a rather lengthy email from Francis. He poured his heart out about how choosing a culinary career was not without its challenges. He had quite the journey prior to devoting his life to the study of cooking.

After reading Francis's email, I felt a connection with his parents. For this reason, my blog ship has been stuck off the coast of the Philippines.

Francis Carl "Bacon" Gabilan was born in the Tina-an city of Naga, Cebu Philippines. Naga city is an industrial city, mostly factories. The majority of the cement used to build the Golden Gate Bridge, came from the APO Cement Corporation in the city of Naga. The city of Naga is also known for a beautiful park overlooking the sea with good eateries and bars.

From an early age, Francis showed a proficiency in mathematics. He was valedictorian in primary and secondary school. He received many honors at divisional and regional level quizzes.

His natural ability in mathematics, lead him to pursue a degree in accountancy. In his second year of college, Francis discovered his true feelings about his chosen career. He did not wish to continue accountancy. Culinary arts was where is heart was.

He shared with his family his dreams and told them accountancy was not the career path for him and he planned to discontinue college. Francis' parents did not approve.

After many heated discussions with his parents, Francis agreed to finish accountancy and pass the board exam. He wanted to show his family that he was serious in his stance to pursue culinary arts.

In his own words, "Being just a cook may be hard, but I get to express myself through food. I get to strengthen myself emotionally and physically by being in the kitchen. I get to touch people's lives. I get to change their outlook of life, positively, even if just briefly, through good food. I get to be myself, I am happy being, ‘just a cook’”

As a parent, I have many dreams for my children. I can guide them in the way that I think is best, steering their course. Ultimately, they will choose their own path. ~A

Francis Carl Galiban, AKA Bacon

Origin: The Tina-an city of Naga, Cebu, Philippines.

Educational background: BS accoutancy, Culinary Arts.

Favorite Knife: Yoshikane Kiritsuke Gyuto (name Kage, which means shadow. I call his knife “my precious” because it is so beautiful and so sharp)

Music: Electro house music

Francis refers to himself as a night person, appreciates abstract art, movies and gaming especially World of Warcraft, and martial arts.

Francis shared with us this recipe. It goes great with pork spare ribs and chicken.

Adobo

1 ½ cups vinegar

¾ cup soy sauce

½ cup garlic (smashed)

6 cups Lemon lime soda

2 each 0nions sliced.

1 cup scallions sliced

cracked black pepper or whole peppercorns.

6 tbsp. canola oil

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the protein, I used pork spare ribs, to the marinade, for a few hours, not overnight. Remove the meat from marinade. Using a tea towel, dry thoroughly.

It is important to completely dry the ribs. If you don’t you will not caramelize the meat but the residual sugars from the marinade. In a sauté pan, sear the ribs on all sides over medium to high heat in a little oil.

After searing, place the protein in a slow cooker. Deglaze the searing pan with a little of the marinade. Be sure to scrape all the seared bits off the pan. Do not over reduce the liquid, it will burn. Add this liquid to the slow cooker. Add the remaining marinade also.

When I made this recipe, I strained the onions out and in the pan that I had earlier used for searing, caramelized them over medium low heat. Once the onions have picked up some color I added them to the slow cooker. Then I simmered them for a few hours until they were nice and tender.

I hope that you enjoy this beautiful Filipino classic. Where shall I sail to next?

India is a place I have always wanted to visit. Anyone interested?

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love April