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Chicken adobo

Chicken Adobo

Bone-in chicken braised in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and bay until the sauce turns glossy and concentrated, served over steamed rice.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 1/2 pounds (about 1.1 kg) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (6 to 8 pieces)
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) cane vinegar or white vinegar
  • 1 head garlic (10 to 12 cloves), peeled and lightly crushed
  • 3 dried bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, lightly cracked
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar, optional
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) water, plus more as needed
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil
  • Steamed white rice, for serving
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced, for serving

Method
 

  1. Marinate the chicken: combine the chicken, soy sauce, half the garlic, the bay leaves, and peppercorns in a large bowl or the cooking pot. Toss to coat, cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to overnight (15 minutes at room temperature helps if you are short on time).
  2. Lift the chicken from the marinade and pat dry; reserve the marinade. Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken skin-side down 4 to 5 minutes, then turn and brown 2 to 3 minutes more, working in batches if needed. Set aside.
  3. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of fat. Add the remaining garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant. Pour in the reserved marinade and the water, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
  4. Pour in the vinegar and bring to a simmer. Let it bubble gently, unstirred, 3 to 4 minutes so the sharpest vinegar edge cooks off.
  5. Return the chicken and any juices to the pot, skin-side up. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer gently 25 to 30 minutes, until tender and cooked through.
  6. Uncover, add the sugar if using, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes more, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and turns glossy. Splash in a little water if it reduces too far.
  7. Spoon the chicken and plenty of sauce over steamed rice and scatter the scallions on top.

Notes

Drying the chicken before browning matters — wet skin steams instead of browning. If the sauce tastes flat, add vinegar a teaspoon at a time at the end. Adobo famously tastes better the next day, as the chicken sits in the sauce overnight.