The unofficial national dish of the Philippines, Chicken Adobo features tender chicken in a vinegar sauce and marinade. That sauce is tangy, sweet, deeply savory, and with plenty of seasoning to burst across your tastebuds. Served over rice, Chicken Adobo is an incredibly flavorful and hearty meal that you’ll never forget!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cane vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or palm sugar
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6 chicken thighs, about 2 1/2 pounds, bone-in, skin-on, but trimmed of excess skin and fat
- 5 medium cloves garlic, crushed slightly and peeled
- 3 bay leaves
- rice, optional, cooked, for serving
Directions
Step 1 –In a measuring cup, mix together the vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and peppercorns using a whisk. Set it aside.
Step 2 –Heat up the vegetable oil into a large sized pot over a medium-high heat.
Step 3 –Add in 3 of the chicken thighs into the pot skin side down.
Step 4 –Allow the chicken to sear until it is golden brown on the bottom, about 4 -6 minutes.
Step 5 –Transfer the chicken onto a plate and repeat the searing process with the remaining 3 thighs, adding the garlic to the pot with the chicken during the last 30 seconds to saute briefly.
Step 6 –Transfer the pot off of the heat, leaving the chicken in the pot.
Step 7 –Carefully pour in the vinegar mixture.
Step 8 –Return the 3 reserved chicken thighs into the pot, skin side down once again.
Step 9 –Place the bay leaves into the same pot.
Step 10 –Return the mixture to the heat, bringing the sauce to a boil.
Step 11 –Immediately reduce the heat to low, and cover.
Step 12 –Simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.
Step 13 –Flip the chicken onto the other side, and continue to let it simmer, uncovered until the chicken is cooked through (reading 165 degrees F in its thickest part), about 20 minutes.
Step 14 –Take out the bay leaves.
Step 15 –Serve the chicken warm over the rice and some of the sauce poured over.
