Jump to:
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.
Felix Alman
Excellent adobo, my mother used to cook adobo chicken about 60 years ago, and it was superb, in those days when money was so short, she also did fish/ mackerels in adobo, beautiful it was.🙏🫶🌹
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for sharing this positive memory and review of your experience with adobo! Adobo is so nostalgic for many.
FM
I love adobo. But sometimes I don’t cook it because it would take too long ( the way I used to do it). I decided to try your method and I love how easy it is and though it’s a bit thicker than what I’m used to, the flavour was spot on. Will definitely make again when I want my adobo fix!
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe and for sharing your positive review! Glad it worked out well. To make the sauce less thick, feel free to add a 1-2 tablespoons of water to help loosen it bit after the chicken is cooked. Hope this helps!
Mr G
A one pan dish well within the capabilities of an English cook 🤭
My Filipino friends are even impressed!!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe! Glad it worked out well for your friends 🙂
Nicole
I liked it, but my fiancé said it was way too vinegary.I’ll admit it was a lil strong but I didn’t disturb anything after I put it in & even let it simmer a tad longer in hopes that wouldn’t happen. I really want it to work! Maybe next time I’ll try regular white vinegar instead of the rice vinegar.
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe and for leaving a positive review! I hope it works out better with rice vinegar or feel free to add less vinegar to your liking 🙂
Kelly
Great and easy recipe the family lived it
Christie Lai
Thrilled to read this and glad the whole family enjoyed it! Thanks for making my recipe and for the positive review!
Karin
Thanks for this. I have tried a lot of adobo recipe but this is the best because it’s so easy and the result is a very yummy adobo just the way I love.
Christie Lai
That is music to my ears! I'm very happy to hear this! That's my intention with this recipe as I understand not everyone has a lot of time these days!
Germaine
Christie, since my children are grown, it's been years since I last made a good chicken adobo. Using your recipe exceeded my expectations! It was simple, well portioned, and very easy to follow. The end result was fantastic and delicious! It made me feel like this Filipino has not lost her touch!, hehe. Thanks a whole bunch 👍
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Germaine! So thrilled to hear that it worked out well for you and satisfied your taste buds 🙂
Cathy
Great recipe for simple and delicious chicken adobo! Came out perfect- I followed the recipe as written. Thank you Christie for making it so easy!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Cathy! So happy to hear that it came out perfectly 🙂 Have a lovely day!
Jd
I did cook your chicken adobe recipe and it's so delicious
Hamish
I have heard so many comments about Adobo from my Filipina friend that I must try this recipe. Yours seems so uncomplicated and I have got as far as buying the 4 thighs! I will attempt to cook this later this week and will let you know the results. I have never ever used vinegar in a recipe before so this will be an experience.
Christie Lai
Thanks so much Hamish! I hope you enjoy it!
Natalie
This was so good. I'm glad to have found a recipe without sugar. My uncle would use brown sugar but I'm trying to eat healthier, even though a lot of filipino comfort food is not healthy. I accidentally put together the soy sauce and vinegar in a cup while I was waiting for the chicken to brown. I was worried it wouldn't come out right because the recipe says to put the vinegar last, but it was still good. I also like my adobo saucy instead of a dry and this was just the right amount and consistency of sauce for me.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Natalie! So happy that you enjoyed it and glad it was just right 🙂
Craig Carter
Great recipe! I think adobo can have countless variations based on taste! Sometimes I add a little smoked paprika to the chicken and other times I will add bell pair jalapeños! But the base vinegar, soy sauce and garlic remains the same!
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for sharing your positive review! So glad to hear that it worked for you and those additions sound delish!
Jade
Hi Christie,
Does coco aminos work with this recipe as well?
Christie Lai
Hi Jade, yes that's a great gluten-free substitute for this recipe.
Susan
So easy and simple, yet so tasty! Great recipe, and the kids like it too.
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my Chicken Adobo, Grace! I am so happy to hear that the kids liked it too 🙂
Marian G
I thought it would be of interest to some readers to say that I used this recipe to improve the taste of supermarket roast chicken legs and thighs which were pretty insipid. I followed Christie's recipe to a tee, except cutting the chicken into pieces off the bone and slightly reducing the second simmer since the chicken I started with was already cooked. It worked great! The sauce was yummy and penetrated the meat well, and the skin was much tastier than when I started. I also steamed some chopped up bok choy in the sauce with the chicken which remained a bit crunchy and was an easy option without having to clean another container. Served with steamed brown basmati rice. Definitely a keeper.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for your kind and positive review, Marian! Very happy to hear that it worked for you and it's now a keeper 🙂 This is music to my ears 🙂
Tom
I cooked it. It's very good.
christieathome
Thanks so much for leaving a positive review, so glad you enjoyed it Tom!
Wanjiku
Loved the recipe and it was pretty easy to follow. Thank you so much!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe and glad to hear that it was easy to make 🙂