Chicken-Mushroom Adobo over Butternut Squash

I have a feeling that Filipino grandmothers everywhere are going to be shaking their head and making fun of me in Tagalog over my dinner (who am I kidding, Filpino's don't read my blog. Except Cyncha).

I looooooooooooooove adobo.  There is a woman at my office who brings in her mother's adobo on special occasions and my little heart flutters in joy at the thought.  I have had pork adobo, chicken adobo, beef adobo, pork belly adobo, various mixtures of the aforementioned and all of it has been mana from heaven.  So, when I set out to make my own adobe, my hopes were not high as I knew what master adobo is supposed to taste like.

I didn't enter this endeavor without research.  I had 2 recipes printed off, watched 3 vid blogs on youtube, and then went to another lady who works here for tips on how any "secrets" she wished to spill the beans on.

I final note before getting to the actual recipe.  I don't do rice, so I had to be creative with the accompaniment.  I decided that the butternut squash I got from Plant Organics this week would do, but it would be a stretch and I was pretty nervous about the final result.  I also only had 1 chicken breast in the freezer and thought I had more to work with, so the addition of mushrooms (also a PO delivery item) was a last minute decision - I figured once I had entered the sacrilege of my sans rice adobo, I might as well take the plunge and really screw everything up.  The result is astounding.  The sweetness of the the squash really adds a terrific counterpoint to the tangy adobo sauce, and the mushrooms soaked up broth like mad and became little flavor explosives.  Because this is a fat-free rendition of adobo, the chicken breast is a little dry; I will have to work on that. 

Chicken-Mushroom Adobo over Butternut Squash
1 small butternut squash
6-10 cloves of garlic, crushed and rough chopped
2 small chicken breasts (about 8 oz total), skin and fat removed
10-12 criminy mushrooms, quartered
1 tsp whole peppercorns, crushed
2 bay leaves
1/2 c. white distilled vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. water


Preheat oven to 350. Slice your squash lengthwise and deseed.  Place cut side up in a glass baking dish with about 1 inch of water.  Bake for 30 or so minutes.  You may find that the squash isn't quite done by the time the adobo is done, depending on the thickness.  If this is the case, microwave the squash at the end for 5 minutes, one side at a time, in a dish with some water.

Spray a saucepan big enough the rest of ingredients with non-stick spray.  Add garlic and brown.  Remove.  Cut your chicken breast into 3 inch strips, or cubes.  Over high heat, add to the pot and brown all sides.  Add garlic back into the pot, along with the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Spoon adobo over the squash, make sure to drizzle some extra sauce!


serves 2 / 284 cals per serving

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Eric's dinner: 2 cheese quesadilla's, plain