Filipino Chicken Adobo

by BudgetBites
Prep: 10m
Cook: 50m
poultry
Filipino Chicken Adobo - Image

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Ingredients
Servings:4
2lbbone-in chicken thighs
4tbspsoy sauce
4 1/2tbspwhite vinegar
10garlic
3bay leaves
1tspblack peppercorns
1 1/2cupwater
4tbspcooking oil
1tspsugar
salt
Nutrition Facts

Per serving

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Instructions
  1. 1

    Marinate

    Crush the garlic cloves with the side of a knife. Combine the chicken, soy sauce, and crushed garlic in a bowl, mix well, and let it sit at least 1 hour. Longer is better if you have the time — overnight is ideal and costs you nothing but patience. Pull the chicken out and set the garlic and marinade aside.

  1. 2

    Brown the chicken

    Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot over medium-high. Pat the chicken dry, then pan-fry about 2 minutes per side just to get some color. Remove and set aside — it finishes cooking in the braise.

  2. 3

    Build the braise

    Add the last tablespoon of oil to the pot and saute the reserved garlic until it starts to brown. Return the chicken, then add the reserved marinade, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender.

  3. 4

    Add vinegar and reduce

    Pour in the vinegar and let it come back to a boil before you stir — this cooks off the raw, sharp edge. Simmer uncovered another 15 minutes. Stir in the sugar, taste, and add salt only if it needs it (soy sauce is already salty). Serve hot over rice with plenty of sauce.

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Filipino Chicken Adobo

Created by: BudgetBites

Prep Time: 10m
Cook Time: 50m
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 lb bone-in chicken thighs
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 4 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 10 garlic
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 4 tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • salt

Instructions

  1. MarinateCrush the garlic cloves with the side of a knife. Combine the chicken, soy sauce, and crushed garlic in a bowl, mix well, and let it sit at least 1 hour. Longer is better if you have the time — overnight is ideal and costs you nothing but patience. Pull the chicken out and set the garlic and marinade aside.
  2. Brown the chickenHeat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot over medium-high. Pat the chicken dry, then pan-fry about 2 minutes per side just to get some color. Remove and set aside — it finishes cooking in the braise.
  3. Build the braiseAdd the last tablespoon of oil to the pot and saute the reserved garlic until it starts to brown. Return the chicken, then add the reserved marinade, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
  4. Add vinegar and reducePour in the vinegar and let it come back to a boil before you stir — this cooks off the raw, sharp edge. Simmer uncovered another 15 minutes. Stir in the sugar, taste, and add salt only if it needs it (soy sauce is already salty). Serve hot over rice with plenty of sauce.

Notes & Tips

This is about as cheap as a real dinner gets. A package of bone-in chicken thighs runs a couple bucks a pound, and everything else — soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns — is pantry stuff you probably already own. Works out to roughly $2 a serving and tastes like way more than that. Bone-in is the move here: dark meat stays juicy through the long simmer and the bones give the sauce real body. Make the full batch even if it's just you. Adobo is one of those dishes that's flat-out better the next day once the flavor settles in, and leftovers reheat beautifully over rice with a fried egg on top.