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Chicken adobo features juicy chicken thighs cooked in a savory and tangy sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaves, black peppercorns, garlic, and onions. It's absolutely delicious with steamed rice and your favorite vegetables.
It is such a popular dish in the Philippines that they consider it their national dish and each household has their own way of making it. There are also different types of adobo featuring different kinds of meat, like pork adobo or beef adobo.
Of all the Filipino dishes, it is my favorite because it's packed with flavor! The best part is when that brown sauce hits the plain rice making it a whole meal in itself!
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 & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Skin-on Bone-in Chicken thighs: or substitute with drumsticks, chicken legs, or boneless skinless chicken thighs but cook until an internal temperature of 165 with a digital instant read thermometer. Avoid chicken breast. Not a fan of chicken? Substitute with pork ribs.
- 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. If you’re gluten-free, substitute the soy sauce with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Cane vinegar, coconut vinegar, rice vinegar or palm vinegar: or substitute with white vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Garlic
- Whole Black Peppercorns: Or substitute with black pepper to taste.
- Bay leaves: This adds a subtle bitter flavor to help prevent a dish from tasting too heavy.
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 it’s 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. Avoid 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:
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium-sized pan on medium heat. Cook sliced onions until translucent and softened.
- Move the onions aside and place chicken thighs skin side down. Brown the skin for a few minutes and avoid moving the chicken around or it won't evenly brown.
- Add soy sauce, sliced garlic, whole black peppercorns, bay leaves and lastly, the vinegar. Do not stir the sauce or it will end up tasting too acidic because the vinegar didn't have a chance to fully evaporate. The simmering process will create a balanced tasting sauce so don't panic if it tastes very tangy at this point.
- Bring to a boil, cover and then reduce to low-medium heat or a rolling simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, flip the chicken over so it's skin side up. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Uncover the lid and simmer for another 3-5 minutes to the thicken the sauce. Remove off heat and rest for a couple minutes before enjoying for the juices to settle in the chicken.
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat: microwave the dish for a few minutes until hot or reheat on the stove top in a pan over medium heat until the chicken is hot through out and add a few tablespoons of water to loosen the sauce.
- Freezer-friendly? Chicken adobo can be frozen for up to 3 months in the freezer. To freeze: let the chicken cool down completely and store into a freezer-safe bag with the sauce. To reheat from frozen: thaw the chicken overnight in the fridge and microwave or reheat in a pan on medium heat until hot throughout.
Pairing Suggestions
Chicken adobo serves well with:
- appetizers like lumpia, panara, tenga or pork siomai
- soups or stews like chicken tinola, sinigang, or arroz caldo
- vegetable dishes like Pinakbet, stir fry eggplant, crispy eggplant fritters,
bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans - steamed white rice, brown rice, plain noodles, garlic fried rice, coconut rice, pancit noodles, Filipino-style spaghetti
- other meat dishes like pork adobo, Filipino-style fried chicken, beef tapa, or kare-kare.
- desserts like taho, flan, or ube ice cream.
FAQ
Chicken adobo can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat until hot.
The chicken thighs can be marinated the 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.
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Tender Chicken Adobo
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
- ¼ cup regular soy sauce
- ½ cup rice vinegar or cane vinegar, coconut vinegar, palm vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoon garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil any neutral tasting oil
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium-sized pan on medium heat. Cook sliced onions until translucent and softened.
- Move the onions aside and place chicken thighs skin side down. Brown the skin for a few minutes and avoid moving the chicken around or it won't evenly brown.
- Add soy sauce, sliced garlic, whole black peppercorns, bay leaves and lastly, the vinegar. Do not stir the sauce or it will end up tasting too acidic because the vinegar didn't have a chance to fully evaporate. (The simmering process will create a balanced tasting sauce so don't panic if it tastes very tangy at this point).
- Bring to a boil, cover and then reduce to low-medium heat or a rolling simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid, flip the chicken over so it's skin side up. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Uncover the lid and simmer for another 3-5 minutes to the thicken the sauce. Remove off heat and rest for a couple minutes before enjoying for the juices to settle in the chicken.
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 🙂
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 🙂 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 didn’t 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 🤗
christieathome
Thanks for making my recipe Edessa, so glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Happy my recipe was easy to follow.
Emma
Incredibly delicious and so easy! I’ve 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 I’ve 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. Can’t 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 🙂 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!