Chicken Adobo
The Philippines' iconic braise: chicken simmered in soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic.
Meat
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Soy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
How this varies: Adobo sa gata, a regional variant especially common in the Bicol region and parts of the Visayas, adds coconut milk partway through cooking for a richer, creamier sauce -- a legitimate and popular household variation, not a deviation from "correct" adobo.
Ingredients
- 1kg chicken thighs, bone-in
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 2/3 cup white vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp oil
Steps
- Combine chicken, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a pot; marinate 30 minutes if time allows.
- Add water and bring to a boil, then simmer covered 15 minutes.
- Add the vinegar. Boil uncovered without stirring for 3-4 minutes to cook off its raw sharpness, then stir and simmer covered 10 more minutes.
- Remove chicken, brown it in oil in a separate pan until skin is crisp (optional but recommended).
- Meanwhile, reduce the braising liquid with brown sugar until slightly thickened.
- Return chicken to the sauce to coat, simmer 5 more minutes. Serve with rice.