I must say that this recipe is a big culinary revelation for me. It is acid and salty and you get a lot of garlic notes. Filipino Chicken Adobo is an explosion of flavor in your mouth!
Table of Contents
What is chicken adobo?
In the Philippines “adobo” is a marinate made basically with soy sauce, peppercorn, and vinegar (Philippine vinegar or white vinegar). Usually involves some crushed garlic.
It is interesting that they prefer to use crushed garlic. I mean you peel the garlic and with a big knife you crush the garlic one or twice. This allows to release the garlic flavor and still maintain the integrity of the garlic that you can remove after the cooking process.
Just because I’m a crazy garlic lady I left a couple on my plate. They end up kind of glazed and I love a big chunk of acid garlic, weird I know.
Besides garlic, chicken adobo usually has onion too. The result is the same as the garlic, kind of caramelized in this tart and delicious sauce.
The mix of soy sauce and vinegar is so salty and strong flavored that you won’t need to add extra salt.
This is a healthy chicken recipe that taste amazing and has a lot of protein.
How to cook chicken adobo?
It’s quite easy to cook this meal.
First, you need to marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. This will add flavor to the meat and the vinegar will tender the chicken. You can use chicken breast, thighs, wings or drumstick.
Then we need to pan sear the chicken. After you get a nice golden color you add the marinade to the pan and cover with a lid to create the thick sauce. It is important to cook over low heat at this step to “stew” the chicken and create a shiny and rich sauce.
What to serve with chicken adobo?
This Filipino chicken adobo just needs a big bowl of white fluffy rice that you can cover with the onions and sauce from the chicken. It will absorb the sauce and you get a complete meal out of this recipe.
If you want to spice things a bit you can serve with turmeric rice or carrot rice.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and I see you in the next one!
Filipino Chicken Adobo
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken drumstick
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar or Filipino vinegar
- 1 onion cut into slices
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tsp peppercorn
- 2 bay leafs
Instructions
- In a big bowl add all the ingredients and let them marinate for 30 minutes or more.
- Heat a big pan (preferably a cast iron pan) and sear the chicken drumsticks. Sear every side for about 10 minutes until you get a golden result.
- Pour the marinade (with the onion and the crushed garlic cloves) and lower the heat. Cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and tender. Remove the bay leaf.
- Serve along with a white rice bowl.
Nutrition
I’m Maria and I love cooking—and mostly EATING—food from all around the world. I’ve been sharing my abuela’s secret Latin-American recipes for the last 7 years with the world on this blog. I’ve been a full-time food blogger for many years and I’m always trying new delicious meals that don’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef. I also love traveling, cats, and knitting.