Chicken Adobo
Variations
1715kcal152g protein65g fat119.8g carbs*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
Contains soy · usually contains gluten · only in an optional ingredient: tree nut
Restrictions
ContainssoyIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.
Usually containsgluten (soy sauce → Tamari)The usual version has it. One without it exists — it is the one named here.
Only if you add ittree nut (coconut milk)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.
Diets
No porkNo alcohol
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 3 lb | chicken thighs and drumsticks (bone-in, skin-on) |
| ½ cup | soy sauce |
| ¾ cup | cane vinegar (or unseasoned rice vinegar) |
| 1 cup | water |
| 8 clove | garlic (smashed, peeled) |
| 3 unit | bay leaves (dried) |
| 1 tsp | black pepper (whole or cracked) |
| 1 tbsp | vegetable oil |
| 1 ½ cup | long-grain rice (steamed, for serving) |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 1 tbsp | sugar |
| 1 unit | onion (sliced) |
| 2 unit | potato (peeled, quartered) |
| 1 cup | coconut milk |
| 2 unit | scallion (sliced) |
Steps
- marinate30 minrefrigerated, optionalchicken + soy sauce + half the garlic + black pepper — optional but cheap: 30 minutes seasons the meat just under the skin, and the reserved marinade becomes part of the braising liquid later so nothing is thrown away. If you skip it, go straight to searing and add the soy with the liquid.
- sear10 minmedium-high, skin side down, pan not crowdedoil + chicken, patted dry, until the skin is deep brown — wet chicken steams instead of browning, and once the braising liquid goes in there is no second chance at color. Work in two batches if the pieces touch.
- saute2 minmedium, in the rendered fat+ remaining garlic (+ onion, if using), just until fragrant and pale gold — garlic burns in seconds at braising-pan heat, and burnt garlic turns the whole sauce bitter with no way back.
- simmer4 minuncovered, no stirring+ vinegar, brought to a boil and left alone — letting the raw acid blow off its harsh volatile edge before it mixes with everything else is the traditional reason cooks are told not to stir here. Stirring early just tastes sharper; it does not ruin the dish.
- simmer30 minlid ajar, bare simmer, turning once+ soy sauce and any reserved marinade + water + bay leaves + black pepper — liquid should reach halfway up the chicken, not cover it. A hard boil tightens the thigh meat and drives off water fast enough to over-concentrate the salt; you want lazy bubbles until a fork slides into the thigh without resistance.
- reduce10 minchicken removed, uncovered, highbraising liquid (+ sugar, to taste) until it barely coats a spoon = adobo sauce. Reduce for gloss, not for thickness — Filipino adobo is served with enough sauce to soak the rice, and a sauce taken to syrup is both too salty and too small. Taste before adding any sugar; brands of soy and vinegar vary enough that some batches need none.
- top2 minoff heatsteamed rice + chicken + sauce spooned over (+ scallion). Return the chicken to the pan skin-side up for a minute if it cooled, but do not submerge the browned skin any longer than needed.