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Written by Kyzia Maramara

There are a few questionable food combinations in life that would have you almost gagging at the thought of its existence. For example, raisins in anything that isn’t a bar of milk chocolate is a crime. Pineapple on pizza has long been a contentious issue in the foodie world. But who knew that people could get into impassioned debates over patatas in adobo? That’s exactly what happened recently on Twitter.

 

Patatas in adobo, deal or no deal?

If you were scrolling through Twitter over the weekend, you might’ve come across a controversial tweet. Gabe Mercado (from theiconic Yakult commercial “Okay ka ba tiyan?”) expressed his opinion on a classic Filipino dish via a tweet: “This is your reminder not to put extra things like patatas in adobo.”

To those who would disagree with him, he only had one thing to say: “Suntukan nalang.”

Now we know adobo recipes differ based on a family’s palate or own take of the dish so that tweet was bound to ruffle a few feathers on the Internet. And that’s precisely what happened.

 

The Internet gives their own take

Would netizens take something like this lying down? The same people who have fought for decades about whether pineapples deserve to be on pizza? Of course not.

“Patatas in adobo is god tier, lalo na kapag pinrito” one Twitter user said. “I think the extra thing that shouldn’t be here is your opinion on my feed eme. I just love potatoes so much tho.”

Mercado’s original tweet has garnered 13.2k likes as of writing, so quite a few people agree with him. But a quick scroll through the more than 4k quote tweets will reveal that almost everyone didn’t appreciate the potato slander.

 

Why put potatoes in adobo anyway?

The barrage of tweets shows that so many Filipinos enjoy having potatoes in their adobo. But aside from the sheer love for these yummy starchy tubers, why do people put potatoes in adobo? A tweet that replied to Mercado’s debatable opinion explained that Filipinos use it as an extender, something to increase the serving size if there isn’t enough meat. Potatoes can also help balance out the saltiness in the dish.

However, there are those who didn’t find the light-hearted debate amusing. Some netizens reminded everyone that extenders were a means of survival for some folks with tight budgets and many mouths to feed.

“I’m sorry but to me, this is such a privileged take,” tweeted one netizen. “Patatas in adobo and corned beef are ways to increase the serving size.”

“All this adobo debate on Twitter is plain proof that many people here have never experienced being poor before,” said another.  “Adobo can have patatas, saba, papaya, boiled egg, etc. These are not just silly experimentations on food… they are creative means of survival.”

The bottom line is you might not like patatas in adobo but there are people out there who do. Feel free to add anything you want to your dish — patatas, eggs, heck even pineapple!

Your preference is valid.

 

How about patatas in corned beef?

Mercado wasn’t satisfied with dividing the Internet with his patatas-in-adobo take, he also had to tweet another hot take: corned beef shouldn’t have potatoes.

“Do you also put patatas in your corned beef? Because I am team sibuyas lang ang malakas,” said Mercado.

 

None other than Aika Robredo, Vice President Leni Robredo’s eldest daughter, replied to Mercado’s tweet expressing her love for patatas in corned beef (yay!). And based on her reply with 18.5k likes, lots of people agree too. Onions in corned beef is good but onions and potatoes in corned beef? That’s a top-tier budget dish right there.

Some even replied to Mercado’s post saying they add cabbage and water to their corned beef dish as extenders. Where do you stand in this debate?

 

Do potatoes deserve to be in adobo? Share your opinions with us in the comments!

 
 
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This article was republished with permission from 8List.ph. Minor edits have been made for Bitesized.ph.

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