Kuya Jim's special pork offal dry adobo is a dish I have yet to encounter in any recipe book or online collection. I hold it dear as a unique creation of my late brother, perhaps handed down from our mother, who may have learned it from Inang, our paternal grandmother. Our mother, a native of Bicol, mastered the art of Tagalog dishes—which were once foreign to her culinary repertoire of coconut milk, taro leaves, and chili pepper recipes—after marrying our father and moving to Manila.

One dish she likely learned from Inang and passed down to my eldest brother, Jim, is a variant of the traditional Tagalog adobo, known as adobong tuyo or "dry adobo." To my mother, however, it was called adobong halo-halo, a name referring to the mixture of organ meats used in the preparation.

While adobong tuyo might not seem extraordinary as it is essentially another form of adobo, Kuya’s version stands out for his unique choice of ingredients: pork organ meats, tongue, and tenderloin, ingredients rarely seen in typical adobo recipes. The preparation involves a two-stage process: first, braising the meats, and then setting aside the sauce to fry the meats until they release an enticing aroma. Once fried, the second stage is recombining the meats with the sauce and simmering them until almost dry. A refreshing cucumber salad with a vinaigrette dressing is served alongside to balance the rich flavors of the adobo.

This adobong tuyo recipe holds a special place in my heart, particularly since Kuya’s passing during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Just before his untimely demise, he had sent me the recipe via text, knowing that pandemic restrictions prevented me from visiting Manila and enjoying the dish as I usually did. Whenever he knew I’d be in town, he would prepare this alongside another favorite, sinigang na bangus sa bayabas, knowing how much I enjoyed both dishes. Unfortunately, he was the only one among our family cooks who had truly mastered this particular adobong tuyo.

The freshness of ingredients, which is essential for this recipe, can pose a challenge. Pork melt, liver, kidney, and small intestines are not always available in large quantities at local markets, and pork tongue and tenderloin often require pre-ordering due to limited supply. Kuya, who once supplied slaughtered hogs to public market vendors in their area, would request his former customers these parts in advance. For the sinigang, he ensured the bangus was of a specific weight, 800-1000 grams, to meet my preference for the head and the belly portion. He even froze batches of overripe guavas, essential for the sinigang, to be ready for my visits.

Preparing these two dishes typically occupied Kuya’s entire morning, and by the time I arrived, the food would be ready, with the aroma of sinigang broth filling the air. Spread out on the 8-seater round table were a huge bowl of steamed rice—a necessity for his five growing boys—a deep bowl of steaming hot sinigang, and the prized milkfish head in a separate bowl beside my plate. A deep platter of adobo lay in the middle, with yet another smaller bowl beside my plate. He would serve the crunchy cucumber salad straight from the fridge as I settled at the table. In his later years, Kuya often expressed his brotherly love more openly, and the effort he put into preparing these meals reflected the special place I held in his heart. Little did I know that he would be departing this world soon. His son, recognizing the sentimental value of these dishes, has promised to continue this tradition in his father’s honor.

Below is the original recipe Kuya Jim sent me in Tagalog via text. Despite his failing eyesight and a basic cellphone, he painstakingly typed it out—a final testament to his love and dedication before he succumbed to COVID-19:

Base ito sa tig 1/4kl. kada piraso ng baboy: dila (buo), spleen (lapay buo), liempo, lomo, atay, tripilya (bituka), so more or less mga 1.5kg. Ingredients: Vinegar (bahala ka na), salt (bahala ka na), coarse pepper (2 pcs), bay leaf (2 pcs), potatoes (3), onion (finely chopped, 4 pcs), tomato (finely chopped, 4 pcs), garlic (whole). Procedure: Paghaluhaluin lahat, palambutin mo, magbukod ng konting sabaw, isangkutsa sa mantika tas vetsin. Caution lang, baka dumugin ka ng mga kapitbahay mo sa bango! Tas ensaladang pipino... Aral sa akin ni Nanay Edeng natin yan. Adobong halo-halo tawag nya dyan.—Jim Sr.

In California, I foresee no difficulty in preparing this dish, as pork offal is readily available in Asian supermarkets—cleaned, packaged, and pre-weighed. Had Kuya Jim lived long enough to join his U.S.-based children, he would have appreciated the convenience of these resources, making it easy to prepare this beloved dish for his favorite sister.