Traditional Filipino Chicken Adobo Recipe

World Traveler: Filipino Chicken Adobo

October 5, 2010

I've never met a cuisine I didn't like, and ethnic dives are among my most regular haunts. But I recently have come to terms with the fact that I've never made any of the sought-after dishes at the top of my list: North India's saag paneer, Korea's bibimbap, Cuban tostones con mojo. Then, when I learned that most of you are just as interested in adobo and banchan as I was, I decided it was time to tread through previously uncharted kitchen territory.

So, in a new series, I'll be exploring new dishes from around the globe, beginning first with a wildly underappreciated dish: chicken adobo. The term adobo can mean many things, but in the Philippines, a Southeast Asian country that's heavily influenced by Spanish and Chinese cultures, it refers to the process of stewing chicken or pork in a vinegar- and soy-based sauce. I can't get enough of the succulent result, which has an intoxicating sweet-and-sour aroma, and the sauce, which is phenomenal with rice. Make a new chicken dish when you read on.

From Los Angeles Times

Filipino Chicken Adobo

Ingredients

1 (3 1/2 pound) whole chicken
12 whole cloves garlic
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 dried bay leaves
Steamed jasmine rice (optional), for serving

Directions

Total time: 1 hour

Cut the chicken into 10 pieces: breasts, wings, thighs and legs, cutting the breast pieces in half. Place the chicken pieces into a large lidded Dutch oven or casserole. Add the garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, pepper and bay leaves.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low, cover and simmer until the chicken is thoroughly cooked (the meat will be firm, the juices will run clear, and a thermometer inserted will read 165 degrees), about 25 minutes. Turn the chicken halfway through for even cooking.
Remove the cooked chicken pieces from the sauce and set aside on a plate. Continue to cook the sauce until it's reduced to about 1 cup, about 10 minutes.
Strain the sauce, then add the chicken back to the sauce and toss to coat completely, before moving to a serving platter. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Serves 4.

Nutritional information per serving: 478 calories; 52 grams protein; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 25 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 193 mg. cholesterol; 1 gram sugar; 1,940 mg. sodium.

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7 Comments

Afro2358 29 weeks 4 days

I'm a African American now living in the Philippines, and i made this dish the other day and i must say: "I love this dish". The only 2 things i added was 2 tbl of brown sugar, and a 1/2 cup of water. Will make again "very soon".

mariavivian 1 year 36 weeks

BTW, try adobo with pork. I like pork adobo better than chicken adobo, although it's less healthy.

mariavivian 1 year 36 weeks

Love adobo. But here in the Philippines, the original adobo uses plain coconut, palm or cane vinegar. It tastes differently when apple cider vinegar is used, though it also tastes good. The original adobo tastes less sweet when cooked with coconut, palm or cane vinegar (guess they're available in Asian/Filipino stores). Hope you can try it.

adtafoya 2 years 33 weeks

I LOVE chicken adobo!

Susannah Chen 2 years 33 weeks

bluebellknoll, what didn't you like about the results? Maybe there's a way to tweak it this time to make the outcome closer to what you were looking for.