Adobo Chicken in the Philippines What does Google's March 15 homepage mean?

It’s not uncommon for Google to have a Google Doodle in place of its regular blue, red, yellow and green lettering to represent a significant day in history on its homepage — but what does the March 15 image of two smiling children sniffing wafts of hot, well-seasoned chicken thighs have to do with the date?

Google is celebrating “Filipino Adobo” chicken in its Google Doodle because, after the word “adobo” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in December 2006, it was also added to word list on the OED’s quarterly update on this day in 2007, the company said.

Filipino adobo chicken is a popular dish that originated from the Philippines and is “sometimes considered to be the unofficial national dish of the country,” according to some outlets. There are many variations and recipes on how to make adobo in multiple cultures, and Filipino adobo recipes also vary according to different parts of the Philippines, Google’s site explained.

Generally, adobo-style cooking requires the following: meat, seafood or vegetables braised into a stew, usually with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper, and laid over a bed of rice. But for Filipino adobo, places like Visayas and Southern Luzon have their own regional styles — which depends on the available ingredients in the area.

Visayas locals make “adobong puti,” which “uses exclusively vinegar and no soy sauce,” and is considered by some “to be the original indigenous style of Filipino adobo.” For Southern Luzon, “creamier adobo with coconut milk is more popular,” Google’s site read.

The March 15 Google Doodle artist, Anthony Irwin, has a special compassion for cultural ties when it comes to food.

Irwin said, “For children of immigrants, our relationship with our parents’ food is a complex one. On one hand, my mother’s cooking made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It felt special and safe and warm. But on the other hand, most kids just want to fit in. Growing up in the U.S., I didn’t want my food to be special. I didn’t want to feel different. I just wanted to be like everyone else.

As an adult, Irwin said he looks for ways to feel proud of his culture and heritage — pride he didn’t feel as a child. Filipino food creates that connection between his mother’s identity and his own.

“So I tried to capture that simple childhood joy of leaning in and savouring the kind of food that makes home feel like home. Kain nang mabuti!,” Irwin said.

What Is Adobo? Google Doodle Celebrates Filipino Dish

While there are many kinds of adobo in the Philippines, they all share the basic elements of marinated meat or vegetables braised into a stew

Google Doodle is celebrating the “tender, juicy and soulful” adobo, a popular Filipino dish and the first food from the country to be featured on the platform.

Wednesday’s Doodle marks the 16th anniversary of adobo’s inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary’s quarterly word list update.

While there are many kinds of adobo in the Philippines, they all share the basic elements of marinated meat or vegetables braised into a stew. Common ingredients for adobo are vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper. Regional variations make their adobo sweet, sour or salty.

Locals in Visayas are known for the “adobong puti” (white adobo), considered by some to be the original indigenous style, which uses vinegar instead of soy sauce. In the northern part of the country, where coconut milk is a food staple, creamier adobo recipes like “adobong manok sa gata” (chicken adobo with coconut milk) are extremely popular. In other regions, some substitute meat with seafood like squid, or locally available vegetables like “kangkong” (water spinach) or “sitaw” (string beans).

The dish has evolved over the centuries and has spread worldwide. In a blog post, Google Doodle called adobo “a symbol and expression of Filipino pride that varies from region to region, family to family, palate to palate.”

The animated Doodle was illustrated by Anthony Irwin, the child of Filipino immigrants in the U.S. Irwin recalled his childhood inner struggles of the comfort he felt eating his ethnic food while also yearning to fit in.

“For children of immigrants, our relationship with our parents’ food is a complex one. On one hand, my mother’s cooking made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be,” Irwin said. “It felt special and safe and warm. But on the other hand, most kids just want to fit in. Growing up in the U.S., I didn’t want my food to be special. I didn’t want to feel different. I just wanted to be like everyone else.”

He continued, “Now as an adult, I get to find all of these opportunities to be proud in ways childhood didn’t let me feel proud. I can claim Filipino food as a part of my culture and celebrate the connection it creates between my mother’s identity and my own.”

Google Doodle salutes Filipino Adobo

March 15 (UPI) — Wednesday’s Google Doodle celebrates the culinary delight of Filipino Adobo.

The animated artwork shows a boy and girl happily inhaling the smell of marinated meat that can be found in upscale restaurants, as well as Filipino homes all over the world.

The word “Google” is spelled out by the images of a wooden fork and ingredients for the sauce such as garlic, a bay leaf, and a bottle of vinegar or soy sauce.

Clicking on the artwork leads to a page filled with links to recipes for the dish.

“Growing up in the U.S., I didn’t want my food to be special. I didn’t want to feel different. I just wanted to be like everyone else,” Anthony Irwin, the artist who created the Doodle, said in a press release.

“Now as an adult, I get to find all of these opportunities to be proud in ways childhood didn’t let me feel proud. I can claim Filipino food as a part of my culture and celebrate the connection it creates between my mother’s identity and my own,” he added.

“I tried to capture that simple childhood joy of leaning in and savoring the kind of food that makes home feel like home. Kain nang mabuti!”

Adobo: what is Filipino dish and why is it being celebrated by Google Doodle?

The date today, 15 March, is significant because it was on this day in 2007 that the word “adobo” appeared for the first time published in the Oxford English Dictionary

Celebrate Filipino Heritage Month with chicken adobo and crispy banana fritters

Chef Leah Cohen tapped into her Filipina heritage to help reach her full potential as a chef.

Growing up half-Filipina, I never thought my mother’s food would become my life’s work, but after spending years honing my skills as a chef preparing other people’s food, I knew that the only way to reach my potential would be to tap into my heritage.

I was four years old when we took our first trip to the Philippines, ate my first bite of lumpia Shanghai and halo-halo. Year after year we would go back, and I continued to explore and learn how to prepare authentic Filipino food. These trips became my joy, a way to learn, explore and escape from my day-to-day in New York City.

While lumpia Shanghai may have been the first Filipino food that my mother served me, chicken adobo was the first Filipino dish that she taught me how to cook. Chicken adobo is a simple, one-pot dish with five staples that all Filipinos have on hand — soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper, garlic and bay leaves. I add in a few more ingredients to really amplify the flavor. While working in other kitchens over the years, this has always been my go-to staff meal. It is easy to make, and while it braises away in the oven, I can get my prep done. Most importantly, the staff always loves it. Now I make it for my son, Carter G. It is one of his most loved dishes.

Turon and halo-halo are the most popular desserts in the Philippines. We know halo-halo was one of my first bites in the Philippines — and it’s a wildly popular dish on my Pig & Khao menu here in NYC — but it’s not the easiest dish to make. Turon, on the other hand, is much easier to make. It is like the dessert version of lumpia — a sweet spring roll filled with banana, jackfruit and brown sugar.

Adobo: what is Filipino dish and why is it being celebrated by Google Doodle?

The date today, 15 March, is significant because it was on this day in 2007 that the word “adobo” appeared for the first time published in the Oxford English Dictionary

If you’ve checked Google today and suddenly found your stomach growling and mouth watering, then there’s a good reason – it’s because today’s Google Doodle is celebrating Filipino adobo.

The date that the Google Doodle appears always holds significance for the subject in question, and today’s Doodle is no different. The reason that Google has chosen 15 March to celebrate Filipino adobo is because in December 2006, the word adobo was added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), and on today’s date in 2007 it was included on the word list of the OED quarterly update.

What is Filipino adobo?
Filipino adobo is a hugely popular dish which originates from the Philippines and is sometimes considered to be the unofficial national dish of the country. While there are loads of different variations of adobo, they all share the same basic elements – meat, seafood or vegetables that have been braised into a delicious stew, usually with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper.

Adobong puti, enjoyed by locals in Visayas, is considered by some to be the original indigenous style of Filipino adobo. This version of the meal uses exclusively vinegar and no soy sauce. Meanwhile in places like Southern Luzon, creamier adobo with coconut milk is more popular. Regional changes to the recipe generally depend what ingredients are readily available in that area.

Once cooked, the adobo is usually served over a bed of rice, which we can see in the Google Doodle.

While the word adobo might make you think of Spanish adobo, Filipino adobo is a completely separate dish that was developed and evolved independently from the Spanish version.

Who designed the Doodle?
Today’s Google Doodle comes from artist Anthony Irwin.

Talking about his thought process behind designing the Doodle, Irwin said: “For children of immigrants, our relationship with our parents’ food is a complex one. On one hand, my mother’s cooking made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It felt special and safe and warm. But on the other hand, most kids just want to fit in. Growing up in the U.S., I didn’t want my food to be special. I didn’t want to feel different. I just wanted to be like everyone else.

“I ordered some southern-style chicken adobo from a local restaurant to stir up some memories while working on the art for this Doodle, and the first thing that hit me was the smell. It was so bright and nostalgic, and instantly filled my apartment with that familiar feeling: this is exactly how things are supposed to be. So I tried to capture that simple childhood joy of leaning in and savouring the kind of food that makes home feel like home. Kain nang mabuti!”

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Adobo Chicken in the Philippines What does Google’s March 15 homepage mean?

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