Chicken Adobo

Chicken Adobo. A delicious tender braised chicken dish with a garlicky soy vinegar sauce that is savory and tangy made with everyday ingredients.

Fantastic as a main course served with some white rice or brown rice with greens. For a healthy low-carb option, feel free to pair this dish with cauliflower rice. This also works well as leftovers next day.

What does chicken adobo taste like?

This cooked chicken is so juicy and tender as it is seared and simmered in a tangy savory adobo sauce and rendered chicken fat. The soy and vinegar sauce with the black peppercorns, onion and garlic give this dish its signature savory tangy garlicky taste. Don't forget to pour the remaining sauce from the finished dish onto your rice, it compliments it perfectly.

Easy & Ready in 30 minutes!

My chicken adobo recipe is easy to make with simple pantry ingredients! It’s the type of dish where you throw everything in a pot or pan to set it and forget it! I love this dish because it only uses a handful of ingredients and doesn't take much effort. I will show you how to cook chicken adobo with visuals and a video below.

No marinating time required

There is no marinating time required in this easy recipe! The cooking time from start to finish is 30 minutes including preparation made with simple ingredients! That's why it's one of my favorite Filipino dishes.

National dish of the Philippines

This homemade chicken adobo is popular in the Philippines and pairs deliciously with steamed rice and leafy greens. Chicken adobo and rice is probably one of the most iconic dishes in Filipino cuisine. It's so widely popular for good reason because it's simple, delicious yet the flavors really hit the spot thanks to the salty tangy taste. Across the country there are variations of adobo, some include using pork, fish, shrimp, and steak.

Ingredients of Chicken Adobo

For this recipe, you’ll need the following chicken adobo ingredients. Please scroll down to the recipe card below for full measurements.

• Chicken thighs: I highly recommend dark meat bone-in chicken with skin on. This yields tender chicken pieces.
  • You may also use skinless chicken thighs, bone chicken like chicken drumsticks or chicken legs.
  • If you use chicken breasts, it won't be as tender or juicy but feel free to substitute with this cut for a leaner option and please only cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 F or until juices run clear.
• Regular soy sauce: Just your regular all purpose soy sauce. The label will simply say "Soy Sauce". This is not the same as dark soy sauce or light soy sauce. In fact, dark soy sauce is less salty and meant for coloring a dish and light soy sauce is saltier than the regular kind.
  • If you want to make this dish gluten-free, please substitute the amount of soy sauce with coconut aminos, tamari sauce, or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
  • If you want less soy sauce, feel free to reduce the amount or substitute with low sodium soy sauce.
• White vinegar: You may also substitute with rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or cane vinegar if you wish. This is the key ingredient for that tangy sauce.
• Garlic: Filipinos like to add lots of garlic to this dish for flavorful chicken. The garlic also gives the savory sauce a garlicky taste and aroma.
• Black whole peppercorns: This is one of the key flavoring ingredients for this simple recipe. It is iconic to Filipino Adobo.
• Bay leaves: Adding a bay leaf is another signature ingredient to this dish. It adds a subtle bitter flavor to help prevent a dish from tasting too heavy.
• Yellow onion, white onion, or red onion: Traditionally, this is not commonly added but it adds fantastic flavor to any chicken recipes.
• Neutral oil: any flavorless oil like avocado oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil or canola oil.

How to make Chicken Adobo

Below are brief steps with visuals to show you how to make easy chicken adobo recipe. Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full instructions and details.

1. In a large skillet or large dutch oven on medium heat, add oil. Followed by sliced onions and cook until translucent.
2. Move the onions aside and place chicken thighs skin side down. Allow the skin to brown, about 3-5 minutes. Do not constantly move the chicken around or it won't brown well.
3. Pour in soy sauce, garlic, black peppercorns, bay leaves and lastly white vinegar. For best results, do not stir the sauce as this prevents the acid from fully evaporating.
4.  Bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce to a rolling simmer or low-medium heat for 10 minutes.
5. Uncover the lid and flip the chicken over so the skin is facing up. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. Uncover the lid and continue to simmer for 3-5 minutes so the sauce can thicken a bit. Remove off heat to serve & enjoy!

Cooking Tips

Below are tips on making the best chicken adobo recipe:

Use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

This will offer the best and deepest flavor to this dish thanks to the skin and bone.

Onions are not traditional but highly recommended

Onions are not traditional to this dish but they offer such an incredible flavor that I always add some.

Brown the chicken skin first

When you brown the chicken first, this gives the chicken skin more flavor especially when it’s cooked with the onions.

Do not mix the sauce

After I pour in the vinegar, I do not stir the vinegar into the soy sauce. The bubbling action will do the job for you. In fact, many Filipino households advise this tip as it helps to burn off the acid in the vinegar in the bottom of the pot. If you mix the sauce, it could create different results.

Flip chicken over mid way

This allows for the chicken to be evenly cooked and marinated in flavor, on both sides without disintegrating the skin.

FAQ

Below are frequently asked questions about this Filipino chicken adobo:

How long will this last?

Up to 4 days stored in an airtight container.

What is Adobo Chicken made of?

This basic chicken adobo recipe is made of bone in chicken thighs (or drumsticks), soy sauce, vinegar, lots of garlic, black peppercorns, bay leaves and onions. The onions are not traditional but offer incredible flavour so I highly recommend adding.

Can I make this dish spicy?

Yes, this can be a spicy dish by adding some red pepper flakes, red chili flakes or chili peppers. I would suggest starting with ½ teaspoon and add more as needed at the end after your sauce has simmered.

How can I make this dish sweet?

Feel free to add your choice of sweetener, like brown sugar, white sugar, palm sugar, cane sugar, or honey to this dish for a hint of sweetness. I would suggest adding about 1-2 teaspoon to the soy sauce and then adding the mixture of soy sauce and sugar into the large skillet or pot.

Can I use dark or light soy sauce in replacement?

No, dark or light soy sauce won’t be salty enough for this recipe. Please use regular soy sauce.

Other recipes you may like!

If you enjoyed my Filipino chicken adobo recipe, you may like these recipes:

• Soy Hoisin Chicken Thighs
• Dakbokkeumtang Korean Chicken Stew
• Soy Maple Glazed Chicken
• Chinese Five Spicy Honey Chicken
• Chinese Chicken Potato Stew

If you've made my recipe and enjoyed it, don't forget to leave a star rating in the comments section below.

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