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Chicken adobo

Ingredients​

Chicken Adobo ingredients​

  • Chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on for flavor; boneless skinless also works): 2.5–3 lbs (1.5 kg)
  • Soy sauce (regular or light; avoid dark soy): 1/2 cup (120ml)
  • Vinegar (Filipino cane vinegar preferred, or white/rice vinegar): 1/3 cup (80ml)
  • Bay leaves: 3
  • Garlic (minced or smashed): 5–6 cloves
  • Water (or enough to partially submerge chicken): 1 1/2 cups (360ml)
  • Brown sugar (adjust to taste, or omit if using cane vinegar): 1–2 tbsp
  • Onion (medium, thinly sliced or diced): 1
  • Steamed white or jasmine rice (for serving): As needed
  • Green onions or cilantro (chopped, for garnish): As needed
  • Salt: Only if needed (soy adds a lot of salt already)

Garlic coconut rice ingredients​

  • Jasmine rice (uncooked): 2 cups (380g)
  • Water: 1 1/2 cups (360ml)
  • Salt: 1/2 tsp
  • Coconut oil: 3 tbsp
  • Garlic (finely chopped): 1/4 cup
  • Fish sauce: 1 tbsp

Method​

  1. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves in a large bowl. Mix well.
  2. Marinate chicken in the mixture for 30 minutes. Not longer.
  3. Prepare rice:
    1. Rince rice and start cooking it with water and salt in a rice cooker or pot.
    2. Slice garlic finely.
    3. Heat coconut oil in a pot over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden brown.
    4. Add cooked rice and fish sauce to the pot. Mix well and keep warm.
  4. Cook the chicken:
    1. Take out chicken from marinade (reserve marinade) and pat dry.
    2. Add the water to marinade and brown sugar.
    3. Put chicken in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sear chicken skin-side first, and on
    4. both sides until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side.
    5. Remove some of the grease and cook the onion.
    6. When cooked, add the chicken back to the pot.
    7. Pour marinade mixture over chicken.
    8. Get it to a simmer, cover partially, and cook for 30-40 minutes
    9. When thighs are at 190f/88c, kill the heat. Let rest for 20 minutes.
  5. After resting, remove chicken and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high and reduce sauce until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Pull out bay leaves.
  6. Optional: throw in a bit of coconut milk.
  7. Put the chicken back in the pot to reheat. Coat it with reduced sauce.
  8. Serve chicken adobo over garlic rice. Garnish with green onions or cilantro.