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Chicken Adobo
Updated July 31, 2024
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- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus 1 to 8 hours’ marinating
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 20 minutes, plus 1 to 8 hours’ marinating
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 6bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or a combination of thighs and drumsticks (about 2½ pounds total)
- ⅓cup low-sodium or regular soy sauce
- 6garlic cloves, smashed
- 2tablespoons vegetable or grapeseed oil
- 3fresh or dried bay leaves
- 1teaspoon black peppercorns
- ⅓cup cane vinegar (or white, cider or rice vinegar), plus more as needed
- 2teaspoons granulated sugar, plus more to taste (optional)
- Cooked rice, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Trim the excess fat from the chicken. Place the chicken in a large resealable bag or container. Add the soy sauce and garlic, move the chicken around to coat, seal the bag or cover the container, and marinate in the fridge for 1 to 8 hours.
- Step 2
In a large pan (with a lid), heat the oil over medium-high. When shimmering, adjust heat to medium, scrape off any garlic clinging to the chicken (reserving the garlic along with the marinade) and add the pieces to the pan. Brown the chicken, about 3 minutes per side. You might have to do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Step 3
When all the chicken has been browned (if working in batches, return all the chicken pieces to the pan), add the marinade with the garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and ¾ cup water. Adjust heat to high and bring to a boil, then decrease heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is tender, about 40 minutes.
- Step 4
Adjust heat to medium and add the vinegar and sugar, if using. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until the flavors come together. The sharpness of the vinegar will soften as the adobo cooks. Taste the adobo (sauce). It should have a pleasant tang from the vinegar, enough to make you take notice but not overpower the other flavors. If it’s too sour, balance the adobo by adding more sugar. If not sour enough, add a little more vinegar. You can reduce the sauce further by cooking it longer, if desired. Serve over rice, spooning the sauce over the chicken.
- You can use 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of bone-in, skin-on thighs; simply cut the total cooking time to 25 to 30 minutes.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
No Filipino I know has ever marinated adobo or used cane vinegar when making adobo. We use rice vinegar and we never add sugar. Don’t worry about the strong vinegar flavor, it cooks off after 45 minutes. This recipe works for a flavorful adobo but it has made it more complicated than necessary. You can brown the chicken or just put it to boil straight away. It is finished when the meat easily comes off the bone.
Omg, my fellow Filipinos need to chill. No adobo is ever the same. We come from an archipelago where each region has their own variation! Some regions use turmeric, some use just vinegar without soy sauce. Heck, my lola’s (grandma) adobo is different from mine — hers is soupy and mine is saucy. I’ve always added a bit of sugar or oyster sauce. You do you! Thanks Naz, another adobo recipe to try!
Half Filipina here- my dad is from Ilocos and he makes adobo with cider vinegar or cane vinegar, sometimes even balsamic! A dash of fish sauce too for some savory flavor… never added sugar but it might be delicious! Adobo is like any national dish, every house has its own way of cooking it, and thinks theirs is the best!
But you're further cooking the chicken after adding the marinade. Everything in that marinade is cooking for a full 40 minutes--long enough by far to cook any raw meat juice and render it harmless. If the marinade was added at the end, just before serving, with no further cooking--then yes, it's a very bad idea. But because you're cooking the chicken for 40 minutes longer along with the marinade, it's as safe as if you'd dumped the marinade in with the raw chicken at the beginning of cooking.
1 pack of wings--cut in half and somewhat trimmed lay in single file of pyrex baking pan pour layer of soy sauce 1/4" 1/2 as much of vinegar sprinkle peppercorns nestle in: a bunch of smashed garlic cloves, 1-2 torn bay leaves then dust w/black pepper bake at 400 for 1/2 hour then reduce to 350 for another 45mins or bit more sauce reduces/caramelizes and wings get sticky serve w/white rice cooked in a bit of coconut oil and simple broccoli can add a cup of chicken broth if want more of a sauce
I make a version of this all the time and never ever add sugar. I cook the chicken in vinegar and soy sauce with lots of garlic cloves. I do not marinate it prior to cooking. I add paprika and cayenne for heat. Always a big hit in my family.
More garlic. Like way more. And no sugar.
I boil the vinegar in a pan first, it seems to soften the sharpness of the vinegar if you are not cooking it for a long time. Also use brown sugar not white.
The sharpness of the vinegar is *key* to adobo. It should be added with the rest of the marinade, not later. (I use a 2:1 vinegar-to-soy sauce ratio.) Also, double up the garlic and definitely skip the sugar, which is heretical.
Agree with previous comments:overnight marinade is unnecessary, and no sugar needed. Recipe is similar to how I prepare adobo, except I add vinegar at the beginning along with other ingredients. A cautionary word about boneless skinless: Just because you can, doesnt mean you should. This dish works best with bone-in fatty dark meat and high heat. Don't try it with chicken breasts and no, it doesn't cook properly in a slow cooker. Excellent recipe. Thanks to NYTCooking for showcasing it.
Very authentic and delicious. I skip the marinade part and the rest of the recipe comes together perfect regardless.
I’m Filipino and some of us will add some sugar. No big deal on controversy that some Filipinos get all bent out of shape of someone adds sugar. There is variety in Filipino taste and recipes. Not one size fits all.
I collected versions of adobo from my family. some swear by skin-on pork belly from a fave butcher. Some only use salt, whole peppercorns, lots of garlic, cane vinegar. Chickens is always bone-in. The Chinese brought soy sauce. Prior to that it was salt and fish sauce. In Bicol region, coconut milk and fresh or dried chili peppers are added. Most swear by Datu Puti vinegar. Make your own version and own it!
I do the same recipe, but I add coconut milk to the marinade and cook the whole thing in the Instant pot for about 15 minutes after browning the chicken. At the end, I pop the chicken under the broiler with sliced fresh red onion or shallots to crisp up, and cook down the liquid until it becomes thicker. And never any sugar. I've also added Chinese black vinegar and Szechuan peppercorns as well.
Adobo has many reiterations and any type of vinegar can be used. The readily available Datu Puti cane vinegar is most commonly used in the Philippines. Living abroad I’ve tried to make this with chicken, with tofu, with coconut milk or without… The BEST EVER version that all of my friends agree on is this — use pork belly and pork ribs, place in a cast iron pot with lots of garlic, peppercorn, salt, bay leaves (No onions nor soy sauce here). Cook on low for 2.5-3 hours. You are welcome! xxx
delicious. loved it. Good simple recipe. saving.
I used to use Nipa Sap vinegar but can no longer find it where I live (Southwest) so I substitute Datu vinegar which I can find at Asian groceries. After simmering in marinade, I also brown the chicken (or pork) and then add it back in. And I always use a bit of brown sugar. There are no empty bowls. So delish!
If I'm using skin on chicken pieces, I want the skin to be crispy, any hints?
Looks like a good candidate for Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, too. Any experiences worth passing along?
I collected versions of adobo from my family. some swear by skin-on pork belly from a fave butcher. Some only use salt, whole peppercorns, lots of garlic, cane vinegar. Chickens is always bone-in. The Chinese brought soy sauce. Prior to that it was salt and fish sauce. In Bicol region, coconut milk and fresh or dried chili peppers are added. Most swear by Datu Puti vinegar. Make your own version and own it!
didn't know there were so many know-it-alls in the world until I read these comments
I asked my Filipina SIL who also consulted her grandmother, and she said- no sugar, it will be too saucy and no need to marinate for so long. Despite the warnings I made it as written fir the first time was a strange very strange recipe. It had a lot of potential but it really was “all of the above,” and while we did eat it as the other reviews agree, it needs way more simplifying and tweaking.
No sugar! Add a dash of lemon juice and some paprika.
I make mine in a large slow cooker (to have lots of leftovers to freeze for future meals) and use apple cider vinegar but no sugar. I put in the chicken thighs (sometimes boneless and skinless) then pour over the soy sauce vinegar and add the garlic cloves (sometimes more than six) bay leaves and black peppercorns. Turn on low in the afternoon and ready in time for dinner (usually serve with brown basmati rice)
I’m Filipino and some of us will add some sugar. No big deal on controversy that some Filipinos get all bent out of shape of someone adds sugar. There is variety in Filipino taste and recipes. Not one size fits all.
I had a spiced white vinegar (imported from the Philippines) that I used, and I really liked how it added spiciness to the flavor. I really liked how this recipe turned out, thanks for publishing!
I'm not going to pretend I know what adobe should taste like. This preparation was delicious. Here's what I did: bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs; marinated overnight; cooked as directed using rice vinegar (1/2 "natural",1/2 "seasoned") at the end. As it happened dinner was delayed for a couple of hours so I let it sit covered and then reheated while I made rice. The harsh vinegary taste dissipated and the chicken was tender and very flavorful. Yum!
I think Phillipino style you'd use rice vinegar and put it in at the beginning; this was delicious and cooked down to a lovely glaze. Will definitely make this version again.
Adobo is popular because it's fast and easy. Dump all ingredients in the pot and let it boil/simmer for 30ish minutes. Thats it! Enough time to make rice and will be done at the same time. There are many ways to make it fancier/complicated-pre marinate for hours, fry chicken before or after, add veggies, etc. I like to add soft boil eggs, onions for sweetness, chicken liver and broccoli on top when done just so to steam it. I use ground black pepper so i dont have to bite on whole peppers.
Best to use a Philippine soy sauce brand. Don’t use Kikkoman - it’s too sweet.
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