Chicken adobo is one of the most well known Filipino dishes. Chicken thighs and drumsticks are simmered in a tangy sauce made from soy sauce and vinegar with plenty of garlic. The sauce is sour, sweet and salty all at the same time. It can be left unreduced for a saucey version or reduced for a more sticky-glazed version – it is all a matter of preference! Cooking mellows the pungent flavor of the vinegar, but the acidity helps to flavor the meat of the chicken.
Ingredients
- ½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 10 cloves garlic, smashed
- ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2½ -3 pounds)
- 4 skin-on chicken drumsticks (about 1½ pounds)
- 5 bay leaves
- ¾ cup distilled white vinegar or cane vinegar
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, garlic and peppercorns. Add the chicken to the bowl and turn to coat the chicken. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
- Heat a 7-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, add the oil and heat through. Add the chicken thighs skin side down and drumsticks to the pot. Sear, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken then pour the marinade into the pot as well as the bay leaves and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the vinegar then lower the heat to medium-low and cover the Dutch oven, cooking until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from pot and set aside. Continue to cook the sauce until syrupy and reduced, about 10 minutes. Return the chicken to the sauce and top with green onions.
- Serve chicken over rice.
Credit: Cooking with Cocktail Rings
