Chicken Adobo

I feel like recently I have been seeing a lot of recipes for Chicken Adobo floating around. When I first heard the name, I immediately thought Mexican. I pictured a very spicy, smoky chicken flavored with chilies in adobo sauce. Not so much. Come to find out,  Chicken (or Pork) Adobo is a common and popular dish in Filipino cuisine.

In the Phillipines, Adobo actually refers to the cooking process of marinating/stewing with vinegar. Wikipedia offers some interesting historical details here.

I've not really dabbled much in Asian cuisine, much less Filipino cuisine, so I was a bit apprehensive about trying this out.  Honestly, I don't even think I've ever had Filipino food. But, the recipe was pretty simple, so I figured why not.

I found this recipe on the blog Burnt Lumpia, but it is originally from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. 

This recipe like most of the recipes for Chicken Adobo that I read through, called for marinating the chicken anywhere from a few hours to overnight if possible.  To play it safe - hoping to get the most flavor and tenderness possible, I started marinating the chicken at 8pm the night before.

I think this turned out pretty well. It was good, don't get me wrong. Not something I'd serve to company though. I do think that probably what made a difference was the fact that I went with more healthy boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs and legs with the skin still on. Having tried the recipe I really see how a crunchy, browned skin would have taken this recipe up another notch.

Chicken Adobo

1.5 lbs skin-on chicken legs and thighs (I used boneless skinless chicken breasts)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup water

In a large pot or dutch oven, combine all of the ingredients and marinate the chicken for 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Place the pot over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Using tongs, remove chicken from pot and place on a dish. Keep the adobo sauce on the stove and increase heat to high. Boil sauce for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken.

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels, then place skin-side up on a sheet pan. Place the sheet pan under the broiler and broil chicken for 2-3 minutes until skin is brown and crisp.

After chicken has browned, pour adobo sauce over chicken and serve over white rice.