Description
Chicken adobo is the national dish of the Philippines. It's easy to cook, uses a handful of common ingredients, and tastes amazing! Fall-apart tender chicken thighs in a tangy flavorful vinegar sauce. Serve Filipino chicken adobo with white rice to soak up all the tangy delicious sauce.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 4 pounds chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on (7-8 thighs)
- 1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1 head of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped (6 tablespoons), divided
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced (1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Thai fish sauce or Filipino fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 dried bay leaves
- Chopped cilantro or chopped scallions, optional garnish
Instructions
Marinate:
- Put chicken into a large bowl. In a small bowl combine vinegar with 1 tablespoon of the chopped garlic, pour over chicken and toss, to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge or in a cool place. Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess liquid to drip back into the bowl, and transfer chicken to a clean plate. Reserve the marinade.
Cook:
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels (this helps it brown).
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid. Brown chicken in batches (4-5 pieces at a time), starting skin side down for 3-4 minutes. Then turn and brown for a minute or so on the other side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Pour out all but 2 tablespoons fat from the pot.
- Turn heat down to medium-low, add onions and remaining garlic to the pot and sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until the onions are softened.
- Return chicken to the pot along with any accumulated juices. Pour in reserved vinegar-garlic marinade, soy sauce, fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 2 bay leaves and ¼ cup of water. Stir to combine, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and cook at a low steady simmer for 1 hour or until the chicken is very tender and the sauce is a rich brown color.
- Serve chicken adobo with rice and top with chopped scallions or cilantro, if desired. (See recipe post for more side dish ideas)
Notes
- Nutrition Disclaimer: We do our best to provide accurate nutrition values using an online nutrition calculator however our nutrition information should only be used as an approximation.
- If you are sensitive to salt or on a reduced-sodium diet, you can make this with low-sodium soy sauce.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Main Dish, Dinner
- Method: Braise
- Cuisine: Filipino