Red chile adobo is a pasty marinade used to season and tenderize meats in Latin dishes.  Having adobo in your refrigerator as a staple is a great shortcut for creating some well known traditional Mexican dishes such as care adobada and pescado adobado.  By having red chile adobo on hand, you’ve already completed 75% of the  meal prep process.  All you have to do is find the protein or vegetables you want to marinate or lightly season and that’s it.

Red chile adobo is great for marinating flank steak, roasted chicken, pork, fish, potato wedges, zucchini and even tofu steaks.  The meat and vegetables can be grilled, baked or pan fried.  It’s such a versatile ingredient and a must in every kitchen.  The process is simple.  If you don’t own a molcajete to grind up the spices, you can use a mortar and pestle or a handheld coffee bean and nut grinder to prepare the paste.

The heat level for your adobo is up to you.  You can select mild dried red chiles such as guajillo, pasilla and morita or add a couple of dried chiles from the spicier variety such as pequin or chile de arbol. This particular adobo is mild but smoky and full of flavor.  Adobo has a long shelf life, approximately 4-6 weeks if stored properly.  Simply store it in a jar with a tight lid and keep refrigerated.

Stay tuned because I’ll be sharing with you a few recipes that include this adobo.  I’m starting to include it in just about all my dishes lately and we just can’t get enough of it.

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