Adobo Chicken

I made Adobo Chicken last night. Adobo Chicken is sort of an automatic thing. It is a go-to dish when I can’t think of what to do with what I have. I learned it from you.  Because there is always chicken hidden in the freezer. Because there is always rice in the pantry. Because there is always soy sauce and vinegar and sugar and canned bamboo shoots in the cupboard. Because there is always a shriveled up piece of ginger and some garlic kicking around the kitchen. And if there isn’t there is always the powdered variety to make due. So, when all else failed, we could always have Adobo Chicken. I can always have Adobo Chicken. You always used canned and sliced bamboo shoots in your Adobo Chicken. Didn’t you know that wasn’t ‘authentic’ Adobo Chicken? Don’t you know, we didn’t care because it was your Adobo Chicken? I didn’t have any bamboo shoots, so I dug into an ever present bag of carrots in the fridge and meticulously cut rectangular slices, pretending they were an adequate substitute for bamboo shoots. Being a long way from childhood and so much more learned about nutrition, I looked at my chicken drumsticks and fake bamboo shoots and felt my Adobe Chicken needed more green matter. The fridge didn’t hold any more secret green ingredients, but our garden pepper plants are generous. So, I added rectangular slices of freshly picked peppers. Perhaps they too could stand in for bamboo shoots. You would have made some soft pillowy, short-grain rice out of that 25 pound bag adorned with a neon pink rose bought from the Asian grocery store. My nutrition angel whispered in my ear  and insisted a multigrain rice would be smarter. So, I listened.  As I tucked into my Adobo Chicken, made not from memories, but from an automatic muscle that makes Adobo Chicken when I am at a loss for other ideas, a wave of nostalgia rolled over me. It was not your Adobo Chicken. Carrots and peppers were not bamboo shoots.  Multigrain rice was not pillowy, but rather toothsome. I was short on soy sauce. I was short on rice vinegar. I made up for it with salt, stock and cider vinegar. It was last night’s Adobo Chicken. I was close enough. It made me think of you.