Adobo Meatball Skewers

Origin: Adobo is a Filipino staple—meat stewed in vinegar, garlic, and spices.

Though the name comes from Spanish colonizers, the method is indigenous, born from the need to preserve food in tropical heat. Bold, balanced, and deeply rooted.

Adobo was never just a dish. It was a method, a memory, a means to survive. Filipinos knew it long before it had a name.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef

  1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 3/4 tablespoon dried oregano
• 3/4 tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin seed
• 1/2 tablespoon ground coriander seed
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons tamari sauce
• 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (5 mL)
• Salt to taste, if desired
• 8 ten-inch bamboo skewers
• Cilantro, chopped for garnish
• Sliced cucumbers and tomatoes for serving

How The Alchemy Happens

Soak Your Weapons
Soak bamboo skewers in water for at least an hour. It keeps them from burning on the grill and makes you look like you know what you’re doing.

Build the Base
In a mixing bowl, thoroughly combine beef, adobo spice mix, tamari sauce, egg, breadcrumbs, pepper flakes, and salt if using.

Shape with Intention and Grill
Preheat grill to medium-high. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the ground beef mixture. Shape into a ball and thread onto bamboo skewers. Wet hands with cold water to keep the mixture from sticking.

Grill over medium-high for 10–12 minutes. Turn kebabs occasionally to brown uniformly. When cooked through (with no hint of pink), twist and pull meat from skewers.

Garnish with cilantro. Serve with cucumbers and tomatoes for a cool contrast.