adobo sauce

In Mexico, adobo is a seasoning and marinade sauce made from soaked dried chiles, vinegar, garlic, onion, herbs such as oregano and spices such as cumin, often with a little tomato and sugar. In shops it almost always appears as the sauce in which smoked jalapeños, chipotles, are packed. It tastes strongly smoky, hot, tangy and slightly sweet, is thick and stains deeply, so a single spoonful will shape a marinade, beans, soup or mayonnaise. Apart from the name it has nothing in common with Filipino adobo, a braise made with vinegar and soy sauce. Chipotles in adobo come in cans or jars from Latin American shops, well-stocked supermarkets with an international aisle and by mail order; once opened, decanted into a container it keeps about two weeks in the fridge, or can be frozen in portions.