Tita Mary's Squid Adobo
Hi, I’m Krizell, a third culture kid and second-generation Filipino American. I’m passionate about preserving our Filipino heritage through food and hope you give these recipes a try!
Krizell•
March 19, 2025
I originally asked my mom to teach me this but she directed me to Tita Mary and said, “That’s her specialty, ask her!” I went into this assuming that it was a recipe that she learned from my grandparents, but to my surprise, she simply said she wanted to learn how to make it because it was her husband, Tito Butch’s, favorite. She said learned how to make it just for him and it took her 5x to perfect her own version. I would call this a true labor of love. And as we all know, food that has been made and prepared with tender loving care like this always tastes better.
Some tips per my Tita & Tito: Choose squid with a “chubby” body, head intact. Feel free to clean the squid to make it easier to eat in the end. Rinse squid with salt and water and rub for 20-30 secs. Tita Mary also said you can add squid ink, but it’s up to your preference! All ingredients bought at @islandpacificmarket.
In a large wok, combine soy sauce (½ cup), vinegar (½ cup), and water (1 cup). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add squid. Give it a good mix, then cover and let boil for 5 minutes.
Remove squid (3 lb) from liquid and set liquid aside.
In the same wok, add oil (3–4 Tbsp) over medium-high heat and saute garlic for 30 seconds or until aromatic.
Add in onions (1 small), and saute for 30 seconds as well.
Next, add in tomatoes (2) and let tomatoes cook down until soft, approx. 5 minutes.
Next, add in ginger (1 knob) and squid. Saute for 1 minute.
Add back 1/2 of the cooking liquid from before that you set aside, along with the sugar (2 tsp) and whole black peppercorns (1 tsp). If using squid ink, you can add it here.
Salt and pepper (to taste). Let cook over medium heat for another 5-10 minutes. Serve with white rice.
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