INTERVIEW

FEATURE | INTERVIEW

floring’s Carinderia: The Home of the native Chicken Adobo

wriTTen by MDPN ANTHONY KEN J. BUCASAS and MDPN. BRYAN L. HOLZKNECHT PHOTOS by MDPN. BRYAN L. HOLZKNECHT

The light before the sun sets still shares its heat. Neighing horses were at large at this moment, exhausting due to a whole day of hard work as they serve the people of a humble barangay located at the heart of a province. Suddenly, a strong aroma of spices lurked the whole place, drooling the people around. It came from a small house. Everyone knows that it is Floring, making again a masterpiece that would greatly satisfy her husband’s pallets.

She starts by slicing the neck part of a native chicken, blood would run from the veins of the poor creature but it was not wasted, a small basin was being fi lled by the red substance. When movement is already absent, she will then submerge the chicken to perfectly heated water to shred the feathers without damaging its skin. After preparing and cutting the chicken into small pieces, she would then prep the spices and ingredients needed. After all the preparations, she will then cook with passion and with her whole heart.

Who started the native chicken adobo recipe?

Florenia Escoton Jalipa was the fi rst to make the native chicken adobo. She was born at Brgy. Ilaures, Bugasong, Antique on December 15, 1948. She was then married to Julito Soriano Jalipa and settled to live in the same place where she was born and gave birth to fi ve children - Kenneth, Charlote, Judith, Geralyn and Karyl Ann. Back then, she was only a housewife cooking adobo for her husband every dawn which serves as a pulutan - a food prepared by Filipinos to be eaten as they get drunk with alcohol. Their house is located near a terminal where passengers from Valderrama, Antique trades their local products for money from buyers who would re-sell them to town. One night, as the cold breeze fi ghts the heat coming from a gas lamp and while her halfdrunken husband and his friends sing sonatas, one of her kumares ask her why don’t she build a small eatery in front of her house, because it will be a good business area. Florenia also dreams of being a restaurant owner and as days go by, her dream became a reality. Floring’s Carinderia was made into reality around 1972. It was just a small eatery where the foundation and walls were primarily made of bamboo while the roof is made of weaved coconut leaves.

What were the struggles did the restaurant face in the past years?

A lot of devastations like strong typhoons challenged the humble native style establishment of Floring’s Carinderia. But out of it all, nothing can beat the destructive force brought by Super Typhoon Yolanda last November 3, 2013. The roof of the establishment almost kissed its fl oor. It left the family of Lola Florenia a ruin. It did not stop them still to serve the people who enjoyed their adobo. Their top customers which were businessmen and politicians help them by lending some fi nancial assistance to fastly rebuild what has been lost.

The DOLPHIN | OCTOBER 2019

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STOP-OVER. Tourists take a rest and indulge native cuisines. FAMILY. A time to enjoy and a time to be together.

MOUTH WATERING. A taste of adobo that will make you crave.

PHOTO SOurce: guTOmna.cOm

PREPARATION. A hours work to offer native delicacy.

Is Florenia still alive?

Florenia suff ered complications in her lungs causing her to have diffi culty in breathing brought by pneumonia. She passed away on January 19, 2012, leaving her two daughters, Charlote and Judith to manage the restaurant. Her daughter wanted her legacy to be alive despite her absence. Indeed, she did a really good job to teach them how to cook the famous native chicken adobo recipe. They transferred their joint at the end of Cangaranan Bridge located at Brgy. Zaragoza, Bugasong, Antique. Lola Florenia was able to send her daughters and grandchildren to school and support them on their needs. She was a true hero to her family and her recipe became a legacy to them.

How is Floring’s Carinderia now?

Seated under an acacia tree, the joint got bigger and can cater more than 50 persons at a time. Every day, around 30-40 native chickens are being prepared. For years until now, the would practice a unique strategy for selling their product. They would serve as many pieces of chicken adobo at the table and charge the customers only for what they ate. Sometimes, they would eat every piece served anyway and even ask for more. Their establishment maintained their native ambiance and surely customers from big cities would enjoy eating at the said restaurant. The light before the sun sets still shares its heat. Busy cars were at large at this moment, hungry for some native chicken adobo to the house where it is built. Suddenly, a strong aroma of spices lurked the whole place, drooling the people around. Everyone knows that it is Floring’s recipe, her masterpiece and her legacy.

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WAYS OF COOKING ADOBO

There are as many ways of cooking adobo as there are many regions in the Philippines. Manila adobo is a dark saucy dish because of the use of soy sauce, the resulting gravy is thickened with flour. Adobo from Nueva Ecija, is dry; the meat is tender, browned and almost crispy with just the right amount of sauce. Sometimes a small amount of light soy is added to correct the taste. Served with newly cooked steamed rice and a side dish of pinakbet, or a dipping sauce of chopped tomatoes and onions, green mangoes or tamarind blossoms and patis, makes for a heavenly meal. Caviteño Adobo, thickened with ground liver, previously cooked with the rest of the meat and marinade, is grilled or sauted with plenty of garlic. In Southern Luzon, adobo is cooked with the addition of coconut milk and hot chili. Vegetables and seafood can also be cooked adobo style. cooked adobo style.

Source: https://fi lipinawomensnetwork.org/ epahayagan/adobo-philippine-national-dish