This Is The Best Reason To Have Leftover Adobo
Leftovers have a bad rap, but you should change your mind. It's one of the best reasons to get creative in the kitchen. Since the dish is already cooked and flavorful, using leftovers cut cooking time for dishes that may typically take much longer.
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Adobo makes fantastic leftover dishes. Make a big batch when you cook adobo so that you can have leftovers, and turn it into some of the most flavorful dishes for breakfast (or lunch or dinner!) for the next few days. Stuff it into pandesal, toss with garlic fried rice, or eat it as it because it's just that good several days later.
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That's because adobo, like a few other dishes such as caldereta and menudo, gets better with time. The flavor of the meat has had a chance to develop even further as it aged, letting the sauces penetrate further into the meats. In a sense, you've cured the meat in the sauce. The meat should have also dried out a little from the initial cooking and the moisture evaporating over time. That's why when you reheat leftovers, you should add back a bit of the water to rehydrate the meats and the sauce. Â
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However, if you're tired of eating plain adobo, the meat that has become too dry is the perfect chance to make one of the most delicious breakfast leftover dishes: adobo flakes. Making adobo flakes means shredding the meat from already cooked adobo and refrying it. What you get is crispy strands of meat that's already flavorful from its time curing in the adobo sauce. You'll want to do this with adobo meat that isn't too saucy anymore (when the meat has a chance to dry out) so that when it's time to fry in oil, oil splatters will be minimal.
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You can easily recreate this bowl of adobo flakes using leftover adobo.
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That's why leftover adobo is best to use for this recipe: it's already got a chance to incredibly flavorful and because it's okay to use meat that's drier than you would normally enjoy eating, refrying it is easier and eating it becomes enjoyable again. Â
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Making it sounds easy, and it really is. This is what you do: drain the sauce from the cooked adobo. (The meat can be chicken or pork. Set aside the adobo sauce to serve later.) Using two forks, shred the meat, finely if you want to create the crispiest adobo flakes. Set aside to air dry while you heat up enough oil in a small frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add the adobo flakes into the hot oil in batches, pan frying the adobo meat until crisp. The adobo flakes will cook fast so stay alert. Use a slotted spoon to remove the flakes from the hot oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining adobo flakes. You'll want to serve this immediately so it doesn't lose its crunch.Â
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You can definitely use this same technique with other meats which have become drier than you wanted it to be. Not only that, shredding meats is a great way to tenderize a formerly tough meat since the thin strands are easier to cut through than dry tough chunks. Plus, this is a great backup meal to keep in mind when you've run out of meal ideas and instead, find leftovers to help you through the day.  Â
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