Tender chicken simmered in a tangy, savory sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar and aromatics! This easy Filipino chicken adobo is great as a main dish on busy weeknights for the family. Made with only 8 ingredients in ONE-PAN!
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This popular dish is so iconic in the Philippines that they consider it their national dish! It's one of my favourite Filipino dishes as it's such a quick and easy recipe with big flavor!
Filipino chicken adobo is best served over white rice or brown rice with greens. The best part is when that sauce hits the plain rice making it a whole meal in itself!
No Marinating Required!
Most recipes require you to marinate the chicken in advance (which you can do - see below FAQ for instructions) but this recipe is designed for busy families who want their chicken dinner stat!
I've been making this recipe for 7 years now and it never disappoints so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Skin-on Bone-in Chicken thighs: or substitute with drumsticks or chicken legs. Boneless skinless chicken thighs may work as well but reduce the cooking time. I wouldn't recommend using chicken breasts as they're too lean and can result in dry chicken.
- Neutral oil: any flavorless oil like avocado oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil due to its heavier scent.
- Yellow onion, white onion, or red onion
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce.ย
- Cane vinegar, coconut vinegar, rice vinegar or palm vinegar: white vinegar can also be used as a substitute
- Garlic
- Black whole peppercorns: Or substitute with black pepper to taste.
- Bay leaves:ย This adds a subtle bitter flavor to help prevent a dish from tasting too heavy.
Variations
If youโre gluten-free, substitute the soy sauce with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
Expert Tips
- Brown the Chicken Skin First. This gives the chicken more flavor especially when itโs cooked with the onions.
- Do not mix the sauce. After pouring in the vinegar, do not stir the vinegar into the soy sauce. This helps to burn off the acid in the vinegar in the bottom of the pot.
- Using the right vinegar is important. It's crucial to use the vinegars recommended for chicken adobo as some can really change the flavor. I would avoid any flavored or sweetened vinegars, black vinegar, balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- Let the chicken rest for a bit. Allow the chicken to rest for a couple minutes before enjoying so the juices can settle back into the meat.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make chicken adobo:
Cook Onions
On your stove top bring a large skillet to medium heat, add oil. Followed by sliced onions and cook until translucent.
Brown the Chicken
Move the onions aside and place chicken thighs skin side down. Allow the skin to sear until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. The best way to brown chicken is to not touch it after you place it in the pan. If you constantly move the chicken around, it won't brown well.
Add Seasoning
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. This is a tip that I learned.
Simmer the Chicken
Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Then cover and reduce to a rolling simmer or low-medium heat for 10 minutes.
Flip Chicken Over
Uncover the lid and flip the chicken over so the skin is facing up. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Simmer Sauce
Uncover the lid and continue to simmer for 3-5 minutes so the sauce can thicken a little bit. Remove off heat to serve and let this rest for a couple minutes before enjoying.
Storage & Reheating
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- To reheat on the stove top in a pan over medium heat until the chicken is hot through. You may add some water to help loosen the sauce. Or microwave the dish for 2-3 minutes until hot.
Pairing Suggestions
This serves well with white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, plain noodles, or cooked vegetables likeย bok choy,ย choy sum, gai lan, or garlic green beans.
FAQ
Yes, if you wish, marinate the chicken night before in the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and black peppercorns for additional flavor. When you cook the chicken, brown the chicken first as instructed and then pour the reserved marinade into the pan and add the remaining ingredients.ย
Other chicken recipes you may like!
๐ Recipe
Quick & Easy Tender Chicken Adobo
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on bone in chicken thighs
- ยผ cup regular soy sauce
- ยฝ cup rice vinegar or use cane vinegar, coconut vinegar, palm vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 ยฝ tablespoon garlic minced
- ยฝ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- ยฝ yellow onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil any neutral tasting oil
Instructions
- In a medium size pan, around 8-inches, on medium heat, add oil. Once oil is hot, add onions and cook until translucent.
- Move the onions aside and place chicken thighs skin side down. Allow the skin to brown for a few minutes. Do not move the chicken after it hits the pan, this will prevent your chicken from properly browning.
- 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. (At this point, the sauce will taste very tangy due to the vinegar, but be patient and allow the following simmering process create a tasty well balanced sauce).
- Bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce low-medium heat or a rolling simmer for 10 minutes.
- Uncover the lid and flip the chicken over so the skin is facing up. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Uncover the lid and continue to simmer for 3-5 minutes so the sauce can thicken a bit. Remove off heat to serve and let this rest for a couple minutes before enjoying for the juices to settle into the meat.
Toni
Easy and perfect! I grew up in a neighborhood where all my teen/tween friends made this at home before their parents came home from work as a part of their daily chores. I doubled the sauce for my husband who likes to pour a lot on his rice!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for this kind review, Toni! Loved reading personal connection you have to this dish ๐
Hilary O'Donnell
This is so simple and very tasty. Thanks Christie!
christieathome
The pleasure is all mine Hilary! Thanks so much for making my recipe and glad you enjoyed it!
Vanessa Retuta
Is there no water to be added?
christieathome
Correct, it's not necessary.
Bounty
I tried your chicken adobo recipe it was nice thanks
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Bounty! Glad you enjoyed it!
Alison
Will make again! Tasty easy to make... awesome..
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Alison! So glad you enjoyed it!
Joseph
really good, fast, simple recipe! coming from a filipino
christieathome
Thanks for making my recipe, Joseph ๐ Happy to hear it's approved!
Alyssa
Perfect recipe, just how my Grandma used to make it.
christieathome
Thanks for making my recipe, Alyssa!! So glad you enjoyed it and that it tastes like how your Grandmother used to make it!
Laura
I made this it came out nice I thought it still had a slight acidic taste even though I didnโt mix it, very nice 8.5/10.
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Laura! Yes, this dish traditionally has a tangy acidic taste but if you prefer it more savoury, you can add equal parts soy sauce and vinegar and that should help make it more savory than tangy.
Rick
I've had chicken adobo many times, several times IN the Philippines.
This delicious recipe took me back to Manila!! For such a simple dish it sure delivers a powerful punch in the taste department.
Thank you Christie for sharing this amazing recipe with us!!
Rick
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Rick! I am really really happy to read my recipe takes your back to Manila! That is music to my hears. Have a lovely day!
Ann
Hi Christie, I have only had light or dark soy sauce.May I know what is regular soy sauce?
christieathome
Hi Ann, regular soy sauce is your all-purpose soy sauce that doesn't indicate the words "dark", "light" on the label. It's usually labelled as "Soy Sauce". The one by Kikkoman or Yamasa are great. You can also sub with low sodium soy sauce to taste after the sauce has reduced. Hope this helps!
Edessa
Thank you for easy adobo recipe. Awesome for a handicap with disabilities because everything was well written and so easy to follow ๐ค
christieathome
Thanks for making my recipe Edessa, so glad you enjoyed it ๐ Happy my recipe was easy to follow.
Emma
Incredibly delicious and so easy! Iโve never had success cooking bone in thighs but this recipe is practically fool proof! I was skeptical that just soy sauce and white vinegar could make a tasty sauce, but it turned out to be one of the best things Iโve ever made! I chopped rather than minced the garlic (recipe says minced but video shows chopped) and served with rice and broccoli. The onions become deliciously jammy and the chicken is tender and juicy. Canโt wait for leftovers tomorrow!
christieathome
Thank you so much Emma for your kind review! I'm so happy you enjoyed my recipe! It's amazing how sometimes less is more when it comes to food ๐ Have a lovely day!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I love how this dish takes hardly any prep... and the flavors are dynamite! It's the perfect chicken dinner for a busy weeknight.
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
The chicken look SO tender Christie! It will be a big hit at my house, thanks for sharing!
Never Ending Journeys
What an absolutely delicious dinner idea! I've never heard of chicken Abodo until now, but it looks like it has a great combination of ingredients and flavors. Thanks for sharing this!
Linda
Wow this was so good and easy to make. I had it with some rice and leafy greens as suggest and it really hit the spot.
Kat Gloves
This was the fastest, easiest AND tastiest chicken dish I've ever made.... for my Filipino friend. He was really impressed... and so was everyone! Thanks so much!
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Kat! So glad you and your Filipino friend enjoyed it!