authentic filipino chicken adobo recipe
For my Filipino Chicken Adobo, chicken thighs and drumsticks are braised in coconut vinegar, soy sauce, lot of garlic, bay leaves and black peppercorns.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken thigh and drumsticks
- 1 cup coconut vinegar (See Note 1)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar (See Note 2)
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 15 garlic cloves
- 6 bay leaves (fresh preferably)
Instructions
- Place the chicken pieces in a large container or plastic, sealable bag.
- In a bowl mix together the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, peppercorns, garlic cloves and bay leaves. Pour this mixture over the chicken, turning to coat and seal. Refrigerate overnight or minimum 4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Place the chicken and marinade in a 13×9″ baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover, turn the chicken, baste with braising liquid and cook uncovered for another 30 minutes or when chicken internal temp reaches 165°F.
- Remove the chicken and keep warm covered with the aluminum foil. Pour the braining liquid in a saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce by half to thicken. Season to taste. Baste and pour this over the chicken when serving over steamed rice.
Chicken Adobo Recipe (Authentic Filipino Version)
Ingredients
Chicken & Marinade
- 6 chicken thighs
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 8 peeled and crushed garlic cloves
- 1 tsp whole peppercorns
- 3 dried bay leaves
For Cooking
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Brown sugar (optional)
- Sliced green onions (optional)
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the ingredients listed under ‘Chicken & Marinade’, and marinate for at least 1 hour — best if you can do it overnight. (If only for an hour, try to flip the thighs to the other side by the 30th minute so that the whole of the chicken is well-marinated by the end of the hour. Otherwise, if you’re in a rush, it’s also fine if you can’t marinate it.)
- Separate the chicken pieces only from the marinade but keep the marinade mixture for use later.
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet. Once it’s hot enough, sear the chicken pieces until brown (about 1 minute on each side only to brown them up; you do not need to cook the chicken through just yet).
- Pour in the marinade you set aside in step #2 into the skillet. Add the water too.
- Bring it all to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium or low. Cover the skillet and let it simmer for about 30 minutes (you can flip the chicken around the 15th-minute mark so that the other side gets soaked in the sauce too).
- By now, the sauce should be thick and rich; if it’s not, you can put the heat higher so that the sauce is reduced faster. It helps to turn and baste the chicken in its own sauce once in a while to help add a bit more color to the chicken pieces.
- Once the sauce looks like a glaze, taste the sauce and see if it’s to your liking. If you want to make it sweeter, stir in about a teaspoon of brown sugar (optional).
- Serve with steamed hot rice and sprinkle sliced green onions on top (optional).
What is Adobo Chicken?
A dish and cooking process native to the Philippines, adobo refers to the method of marinating meat, seafood, or vegetables (pretty much anything!) in a combination of soy sauce and vinegar. This marinade also includes other herbs and flavorings like garlic, bay leaves, and whole peppercorns.
Cooking food in vinegar is no foreign concept to us Filipinos. In pre-colonial times, our ancestors used to cook seafood in vinegar in order to preserve their freshness. Many regard adobo as a spin on kinilaw, which is another traditional cooking method. Kinilaw refers mainly to cooking raw seafood in vinegar and spices. Another similar process is paksiw, which utilizes meat broth in vinegar and spices.