The clock struck 4 in the afternoon and I was still waiting… a wait that was killing me. It was around mid-2004 and much of my day had just been spent waiting impatiently at home, cursing the clock as its hands moved ever so slowly no matter how much time seemed to have passed.
As I pondered whether I should go to my parents’ room to bother them with another dose of “how much longer?”, I suddenly heard a knock on the door. My ears perked and in an instant, I was on my feet, sprinting past anyone who was in the way. I opened the door and there he was. With luggage by his side and an old duffel bag in hand, my favourite uncle, who was visiting my family for a few days, had finally arrived. After saying hello to everyone and getting settled in, he started to unpack, all the while pretending that he wasn’t at all exhausted.
Aside from his clothes, my uncle’s luggage was also filled to the brim with a few things that my grandparents had sent over and when he began laying everything out, I started to get excited. I was happy to see him, but I was also looking forward to one thing that my grandpa never failed to send over. It wasn’t long until a selection of snacks, a small stack of new clothes, and two new pairs of sandals, among others, were strewn about our living room floor. But as he continued to take out more things, I began to fear that something was amiss. Did he forget?
“It looks like your grandpa forgot something”, my uncle said with a sly grin, pretending to continue to look through every nook and cranny of his suitcase. His search seemed fruitless, much to my disappointment.
“Oh wait, here it is”. Wedged between a few clothes was a tall plastic jar tightly wrapped in brown tape, revealing only the tip of a red lid. On it were the words “From Lolo (meaning ‘Grandfather’ in Tagalog)” written in black marker. The disappointment had now faded. This jar contained something special, worth more than any toy or sweet that money could buy. It contained his special pork “adobo”, a dish that he was known to cook very well.
A popular Filipino dish, adobo* is said to be the unofficial national dish of the Philippines, and uses meat such as pork and chicken, coupled with ingredients including garlic, vinegar, bay leaves, crushed peppercorns and soy sauce. Since I told my grandpa that his adobo was my all-time favourite dish, especially because of the tender and flavourful meat and its strong hint of bay leaves, he made sure to never miss an opportunity to cook and send some over when someone was visiting.
My mom would take this jar and heat up its contents. The table would be set and a plate of steaming hot white rice would be put in the centre, along with a glistening bowl of my grandpa’s adobo. The smell took me back to a province with cool fresh air that was accessible through an open door or window. A place where the mornings normally started with the crow of a rooster, the morning radio, and the sounds and smells of a busy kitchen as my grandpa prepared a hearty breakfast to kickstart the day. Though I had only ever been there for short vacations, it was a place that felt like home. Everyone sitting at the table would talk, laugh, catch up and, most importantly, enjoy a home cooked dish made with love.
My grandfather has long since passed and although some have tried to emulate his recipe and continue to send a jar over with anyone visiting Macau, it just wasn’t the same. It wasn’t “from lolo”. It was a dish that not only reminded me of a very special person, but of good memories and a familiar, yet at the same time unfamiliar home. It was truly a jar of love.
Like the topic?
If you have a special dish that you would like to talk about, whether it is because of nostalgia, a link to special memories, or is just something that you like to eat or cook and would like to write about it, send us an essay on theyoungpostmpd@gmail.com. Submissions are still also open for The Young Post’s recent topic “Who is a fictional character that is important to you? How do they inspire you?”
*Borrowed from Spanish adobo (“delicacy of marinated meat”), from adobar (“to marinate”)
Photos courtesy by Unsplash
