A few weeks ago, my friend gifted me with MMJEats Adobong Tahong – the Original and the Sweet Chili variant. It looked amazing and I was excited to try it, but wasn’t really sure how I would go about cooking it. I forgot about it, but was then forcefully reminded by my friend a few days ago that these adobong tahong would expire! It has a “shelf life” of 3 weeks – of course it can last longer if placed in the refrigerator, but I figured I didn’t want to risk eating spoilt seafood. Cue internal panic!!!

After careful deliberation (aka I messaged MMJEats and asked what I could make with these Adobong Tahong), I opted to cook Adobong Tahong sisig (using caramelized onions and Original Adobong Tahong), while the Sweet Chili variant would be eaten on top of plain rice.

Verdict: It’s REALLY GOOD. Highly recommend!

Available Variants: PHP 215 per bottle

• Original: This was our favorite!! It’s so versatile, and pairs REALLY well with caramelized onions
• Sweet Chili: This was also really good, but pair with A LOT of rice. It gets spicy!!
• Spicy: We didn’t get to try this, but if it’s called spicy, I suspect you should prepare your mouths and your glass of milk

Packaging

Each bottle had a tightly screwed on lead, with a plastic seal. I have no idea how to explain this, but you’ll see it in the photo. Suffice to say, it’s clear that the bottle you’re receiving is brand new and has not been tampered with. The sticker itself is pleasing to look at and contains the relevant info: Adobo Tahong variant, instructions on how to store it (refrigerate and consume within 2 weeks of opening the bottle), as well as the production date

Cooking Instructions

There were none. To be honest, you can just scoop these on top of white rice and it would already be delicious. That’s what we did for the Sweet Chili variant. But for the Original variant, I decided to be a little bit extra… by making Adobong Tahong sisig! This is SO GOOD. I highly recommend you try it. It requires additional steps, but well worth it

Step 1: Slice 2 pieces of onion into strips

Step 2: Place a pan over medium heat fire, then coat the entire bottom of the pan with oil

Step 3: Add the onion slices onto the pan and make sure each slice is well-coated with oil. Spread it out evenly over the pan and let it cook. Onions are naturally sweet, so when you cook onions over an extended period of time, the natural sugars inside the onion caramelize on its own! To get to that nice caramelized onion, stir occasionally over the span of 10 minutes. Don’t stir too often as they won’t brown, but don’t leave it alone for too long that it ends up burning. If you find that your onions seem to be getting burnt, lower your stove heat

Step 4: After 10 minutes, you can opt to sprinkle some salt and sugar into the pan to help with the caramelization process. You can also add a cup of water if you think the onions are becoming too dry. Stir again

Step 5: Once you’re happy with the onions, toss in the Original Adobo Tahong and stir for 2-3 minutes to get the tahong nice and toasty.

Step 6: Serve and be astounded by how delicious this deceptively simple meal is!

Value for Money

Well, this was a gift so it was technically free. The real question here though is, would I buy it now that I’ve tasted it? The answer is a definite yes! It’s really good and very versatile. I can imagine eating this again on its own, with caramelized onions, as pasta toppings, and for a myriad other uses. At PHP 215/bottle, it’s decently priced. I would say around 3 bottles would nicely feed my family of 5, so that means a total meal cost of PHP 645 (excluding the rice). Seems like a pretty good deal to me!