Chicken Adobo Recipe
This Chicken Adobo recipe comes from my mother, a fabulous cook renowned in her rather extensive circle of friends for her parties. As she was Filipino, parties always meant food.
Adobo is the Filipino national dish, a little like a non-sweet teriyaki with sauce to flavor the accompanying rice. I've served adobo to artists and society kids, computer gurus, visiting Internet marketers and health food folk — anyone who happened to be there when the mood struck. It's always been a hit because it's one of those can't-get-enough-of dishes.
th chicken or pork, the sequence is: simmer, fry, boil. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. The sauce is to die for; if you're reheating it on a subsequent day, add a little water but don't dilute the sauce too much.
A word about soy sauce: my favorite is Yamasu with Less Salt, which is less spicy than, say, Chinese soy sauce.
Chicken Adobo
1 chicken, cut up
soy sauce
white vinegar
handful of black peppercorns
garlic cloves, peeled (5-15)
1 large bay leaf
cooking oil (something bland like canola oil)
Simmer: Put chicken, peppercorns and bay leaf in a large pot (dutch oven or large high-walled frying pan). Peel garlic cloves, cut a slice into them, and add to pot. (You can use less garlic, but note that garlic powder does not give the same taste or quality.)
Add soy sauce and vinegar to pot: 5 parts soy sauce to 3 part vinegar. (I just tip the bottle and count "glops" as it pours.) Add some water so the pot is about half full; if you're cooking more, then adjust. Important: the liquid should be pretty brown from the soy sauce, rather than very watered down.
Cover; simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, then remove from heat.
Fry: Pour liquid into a bowl and set it aside. (I do this by slightly opening the top of the pot, tipping and pouring into the bowl.)
Pour some cooking oil into the bottom of the pot and brown the chicken at a high heat. (Cover the pot to keep from splattering.) You may have to take some of the chicken out of the pot to do this easily. You can also brown the garlic lightly.
Remove from heat and let the pot cool. This is important — otherwise, the soy sauce can end up with a burnt taste. You may also want to pour out any residual oil, if you are big on fat-free diets.
Boil: When pot has cooled down, pour the sauce back in. Cover, and boil at medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Adobo is done when the chicken is cooked and tender.
Rice
Serve with steamed rice (fresh, cut-up tomatoes are also a nice side dish, as are sliced bananas). I like white rice or Basmati brown (not the California-grown stuff). Typical for Filipino dishes, though, is white pearl rice.
As rice takes a while to cook, it should be started along with the adobo. Wash rice before cooking; this means to rinse the rice quickly in water. The water from a second rinse can be used in place of the water in the adobe recipe. The theory is that the starch from the rice water thickens the sauce.
I could give you the "real" way to cook rice — in all its pot-watching, precise-timing glory — but many of us have opted for the wonderful modern electric rice steamer. <grin>
31 Comments for "Chicken Adobo Recipe"
Leave your comment
Comment moderation is on (but comments are appreciated). You must be 18 to leave comments.
Lynn Cameron says:
I couldn't agree more on using a rice steamer. I spent my hippie years trying to cook brown rice that didn't come out gluey. I researched on Amazon and love the features on my Panasonic model - especially the "timed" factor and the 2 whole hours of keeping warm.
Oh yeah, and it does a darn good job at steaming any ol' vegies you might want to pop in there and melts the real butter topping real nice. Lynn
matthew says:
adobo is the best my mum is also filipino she cooks it for me even wen were not at parties
Editor says:
Ah, yes — sounds wonderful. Nothing like adobo, really, is there?
Mitzi says:
Am I the only one that grew up eating Adobo with bananas?? Lots of rice and one banana per person should be plenty. It adds a little sweet to the salty taste from the soy sauce. It doesn't get any better than this!!
Editor says:
Ah! We do, and our family did, but I totally forgot to mention it (nor the raw tomatoes). But thanks for mentioning it!
d says:
hi! i just finished cooking my chicken adobo .. thanks to your tips…it's been so long i used to cook it before…but i tried using soda (coke) instead of water while making it tender…;)
everytime we go to filipino restaurant the group can't help to order chicken adobo…let's eat now..
Editor says:
Glad it helped! Delicious …
Erms says:
Haven't made adobo in a hella long time. After reading this article I went out and bought some pork to make chicken pork adobo. I got home and realized the butcher gave me beed instead of pork! Aya! You need the pork if want really (bad for your heart) adobo. So I made due! Oh well. It's still good!
Editor says:
Ah, we forgot the pork! (So much for the memory …) And I'll bet it was still good!
Hamilton says:
Adobo is great for students. It's a cut up some chicken, throw it on the stove and study for a half hour type recipe that's damn good.
janec says:
Great article. You should probably also mention that adobo, aside from being a great dish, is even better when served the following day. It doesn't easily spoil and the flavors just blend nicely.
Lani says:
Adobo is one of my favorite of all time. I've found that it's either one of those things you love or just really dislike. My hubby and oldest daughter don't care for it at all, but my younger daughter and I could eat it every day - yum!
Katsh says:
Adobo is definitely the bomb. Haven't tried making it for my hubby yet, but he's quite adventurous so I'm sure he'll love it. Good article.
Editor says:
Aha, Katsh. You might need to stock up on a supply of soy sauce. <grin>
Toeknee says:
Thank you for your recipe, now I can cook Adobo for my wife. She really likes this Adobo for a long time specially with Quail eggs. We add Quail boiled eggs (wihout shell) when the chicken is cooked.
Editor says:
You're very welcome, Toeknee. Hadn't thought of quail eggs. I hope you and your wife enjoy it!
Bob says:
Hi there! Bob here from Italy, I've been cooking steamed rice long enough to test different kind of rice and It's much better to use glutinous rice to have the best Result. We eat it everyday in Thailand.
Julia Abad says:
I like my adobo in its most basic form - no gata, mongo, chili etc.. Your recipe is excellent, The ingredients are deceptively simple but the cooking method is all-important and you can get a bad result if you get it wrong e.g not frying the meat / burning the soy / using boneless chicken.
I won the affection of my (English) boyfriend's mother with my chicken pork adobo. In September her son becomes my husband! Never underestimate the power of soul food!
Living in the UK means no 'dirty kitchen' Sometimes I finish Pork adobo in the oven to avoid the frying part: after boiling on the stove, lay down the strips of belly and cover with the sabaw and keep turning from time to time until it is a bit crispy and all the sauce has gone Cebuano style.
Editor says:
Wow — I love it. Adobo is definitely Filipino soul food!
When frying (since it's a hot, fast fry), I always put the lid on the pan, and just tip it slightly so that air escapes. Don't know if that would be tidy enough for you in the U.K. <grin>
Marci says:
It`s my first time to leave our country and work in Japan. It`s only two weeks since I arrived here, but I already miss the Filipino dish. Even though I don`t really cook, I am now trying to make adobo using your recipe. Thank you so much!
Editor says:
You're welcome, Marci. And lucky — you're in the land of my favorite type of soy sauce!
Michael Alderson says:
I lived with a good friend (Filipino Heritage) and his family and his Mom would make Adobo and leave it on the stove so when you were hungry you got a bowl of rice and put some adobo over it and sat down and ate. Best I have ever had. Everytime I go back home my friends Mom will make a batch for me. She would tell her son that it was for me and he could make his own….I sure do miss being home…..One of the Seven Wonders of the World….
Editor says:
That is so awfully nice. I know what you mean. :)
Jordan says:
I lived in Bikol region for two years and we cooked everything with gata ng niyog and sili peppers (Pinanggalingan nga ng Bikol Express baga!). When should I add the gata to the adobo?
Editor says:
That's a great question which I can't answer (I could guess but that isn't worth much). Perhaps you can get some help here:
Market Manila
Pinoy Cook
Good luck!
A Gazillion Ways to Cook Adobo says:
[…] Chicken Adobo Recipe at Designer Jones: 5 parts soy to 3 parts vinegar […]
nina says:
i so love adobo!!! but i like it better with pineapples. It gives a kick of sweetness to the salty/ sour flavor.
Ken says:
My family and I love Chicken Adobo. I grew up with my mom whom is Filipino made this dish a lot when I was a child. My wife loves this recipe because it is simple, but must be followed to the tee.
Editor says:
That's terrific! Also Nina's comment about pineapples. I'd love to hear what you all eat with adobo.
adz says:
i really love adobo. but i always end up cooking adobo the wrong way. i can't balance the taste of the vinegar with the soy sauce.. but know i know.. (5 parts of soy sauce to 3 parts of vinegar…) i'll try this now.. anyway, our family enjoys adobo with quail eggs and potatoes. you just have to put the adobo while it's boiling. the small potatoes with skin on it… (make sure to scrub it well first!) delish!
Editor says:
Hello, adz. It's hard not to like adobo, isn't it?
There are a couple of tricks to cooking it; part of it is the balance of vinegar to soy sauce. Try 5-to-3 and see how you like it — and then you can adjust from there.
The other thing is, after removing the sauce and doing the fast frying, let the pan cool a bit so that it's not too hot when you pour the sauce back in.
We like a LOT of sauce, and a high concentration of soy sauce. I mean, if you're going to have adobo, have adobo! None of this weak sauce thing!