Hey It's Jen Lou

Happy Filipino Heritage month! To celebrate, I present to you: Adobo Sliders with Banana BBQ Sauce

Adobo is one of the Philippines’ most recognized dishes, besides pancit (Filipino noodles) and lumpia (egg rolls). Every family has their own recipe for adobo, but the basic ingredients are: garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. I’ve uplifted our family recipe, by adding homemade banana ketchup (it’s a Filipino thing). 

Fun history fact: Banana Ketchup was invented by Filipina chemist and heroine, Maria Orosa, to combat tomato shortages due to World War II. Despite the fire engine red color, it actually contains no tomatoes (hello, Red No. 40) and the sauce gets its characteristic flavor from a base of bananas. My kids and I have read her story in this illustrated book: 

My dad eats ketchup with everything and always has it stocked up in his pantry. While visiting my folks’ home in the Bay Area over the summer, we opened a new bottle to complement our breakfast of eggs and fried rice. To my astonishment, we couldn’t get the condiment to come out of its bottle! After a couple of stabs using a chopstick, it finally gushes out in globs. I suspiciously look at it, since it doesn’t look anything like the banana ketchup I grew up eating. Finally, I looked at the ingredients list, where the first four ingredients are: water, sugar, bananas and cornstarch. Cornstarch, as many of you know, is a thickening agent. And it sure tastes like a paste made with sugar. 

In search of the perfect banana sauce, I came up with this recipe. You won’t find refined sugar in the ingredient list; and the red color naturally comes from annatto and paprika.  I use this ketchup in my basic adobo recipes at home and on this blog, including the pulled chicken adobo in these sliders.

And since I was making these adobo sliders, what better opportunity than to use my banana sauce as a base for a BBQ sauce that will top these mouthwatering sliders as well! The result is the perfect marriage of tropical and Western flavors. The bananas caramelize so well, there’s no need to add any corn syrup or brown sugar. 

I served this to a family friend one day, and after dinner I sent her home with a jar of this BBQ sauce because she loved it so much. The very next day, I got a text: “You can also replace the hoisin in your pho with this!”

This post is part one of many ways to make adobo, as I want to showcase how versatile and easy it is for this humble dish from the Philippines to complement other cuisines. I hope you enjoy it as much as my friend did! I’m now off to deliver a batch at her doorstep. 

Adobo Sliders with Banana BBQ Sauce

Banana Ketchup:

Yield: 1 cup

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 garlic bulb, baked

3 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp annatto

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp salt

½ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp pepper

2 medium sized bananas

Instructions:

Cut bananas and combine all ingredients in a small saucer. Turn the stove to medium- low heat and cook for 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat. Use an immersion blender, blender or food processor to combine all ingredients. 

BBQ Sauce:

Yield: 2.5 cups

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup banana ketchup

1 cup tomato sauce

½ cup rice vinegar

¼ cup molasses

2 tsp liquid smoke

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp ancho chile

1 tsp huangdoujiang (or miso)

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine all ingredients using a spatula. You may also use an immersion blender, blender or food processor to combine. 

Pulled Chicken Adobo:

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

⅓ cup soy sauce

⅓ cup white vinegar

¼ cup banana ketchup

½ garlic bulb, minced

2-3 large bay leaves

12 oz pulled chicken, cooked

Oil for frying

Instructions: 

In a medium sized pot, fry the garlic until fragrant.

Pour soy sauce, vinegar and banana ketchup and combine well. Put in the bay leaves and the chicken, turning the pieces until coated evenly. 

Place the lid of the pot and turn the heat down to low for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat. 

To assemble:

Mayo

Coleslaw (without the dressing)

Your choice of buns

*Don’t be tempted to skip the mayo. It ties all the flavors together and in my opinion is absolutely necessary to enjoy these sliders.*