Filipino Style Chicken Adobo

The first and only time I'd ever eaten this dish was at a backyard BBQ in Sausalito back in the '80s. Say what? BBQ? What does that have to do with chicken adobo? Well, the hosts were a husband-wife couple, and the husband happened to be Filipino, and his wife gave me a sample of some chicken adobo she had cooked earlier in the day but which was not on the main menu for their guests. The taste of the dish was delicious and intriguing - savory-vinegary-garlicky all at once. I never forgot it, but then never had the occasion to eat it again until recently when I decided to try making it myself. I adapted this recipe from one I found in The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook and also from a number of online resources. The ingredients are super simple, just chicken, vinegar, soy sauce, water, black pepper, brown sugar, bay leaves, and (at least in my version) a ton of garlic. Sooooooo good!

INGREDIENTS:

5 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat

1 head garlic, separated into cloves, smashed and peeled

1 tbsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. brown sugar
3 fresh bay leaves

1 cup water

3/4 cup Datu Puti (Filipino sugarcane vinegar)*

*Ok to substitute with apple cider or white vinegar

 

1/2 cup soy sauce

Chopped scallion for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine the garlic, ginger, black pepper, brown sugar, bay leaves, water and vinegar in a large pot. Bring to a boil.

2. Add the trimmed chicken thighs to the pan; bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer 30-40 minutes, skimming off as much fat as possible from the top.

4. Add the soy sauce and simmer another 20 minutes. 

5. Serve the chicken with steamed white rice. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with chopped scallions.

Filipino cane sugar. You can also sub with apple cider or white vinegar.

Combine the garlic, ginger, black pepper, brown sugar, bay leaves, water and vinegar in a large pot. Bring to a boil.

Add the chicken to the pot, bring back up to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes.

Add the soy sauce and simmer another 20 minutes.

Serve the chicken with rice and garnish with chopped scallions.