As requested by Philip Galanaga and Neil Gerald Ruiz, here's my version of Filipino chicken adobo! With few ingredients and steps, this is easily a weeknight dinner material, can be made days in advance, and it'll also work in a slow cooker! It might look rich but the cane vinegar makes it bright and tart. I love Filipino food, and this is one of my favourites!
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Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.
- Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Soy sauce (see note)
- Filipino cane vinegar (see note)
- Ground black pepper
- Garlic, roughly chopped
- Onion, short juliennes
- Bay leaves
- Chopped cilantro or green onions, for garnish
- Jasmine rice, for serving
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Notes:
I use Filipino soy sauce for this, but you can use Japanese or Chinese soy sauce as well. I would not use Thai soy sauce for this because it's so much lighter and it won't have the same rich colour and flavour. Although you could try using Thai soy sauce and add some black/dark soy sauce to it.
Filipino cane vinegar is labeled "Sukang Maasim." It is quite widely available at Asian grocery stores. It has smoother, milder flavour than white vinegar. You can also use any mild-flavoured vinegar that you think has a smooth, pleasant flavour. My rule of thumb is, if you can taste it straight up (just a tiny taste!) and it doesn't make your mouth pucker, it should be fine.
How to Make Filipino Chicken Adobo
Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.
- Combine soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper in a casserole dish or a zip-top bag.
- Trim off excess fat from the chicken, then add the chicken to the marinade. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.
- In a medium sized pot or skillet just wide enough to fit all the chicken in one layer, add a little vegetable oil and onions. Cook the onions, stirring frequently, over medium low heat until the caramelized, soft and sweet.
- If you notice that the pan has a lot of browned bits stuck to the bottom, deglaze with a bit of water. When the onions are almost done, add garlic and bay leaves and cook for a few more minutes until the onions are done.
- Push the onions to one side of the pan then add a little oil to the empty space. Turn the heat up to medium high and wait for the pan to get hot. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down and let sear for a minute or two to brown the skin.
- Once browned, flip the chicken and add the marinade. Add a little more water so that the sauce comes up right under the chicken skin (about ¾ submerged).
- Cover and turn the heat to low so the liquid is gently bubbling. Braise for 30 minutes or until the chicken is fork tender. If you want you can flip the chicken at about halfway through.
- When the chicken is done braising, if you wish to concentrate the sauce further, you can open the lid and reduce the sauce over high heat for another few minutes.
- Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Garnish with chopped green onion and/or cilantro and serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!
Filipino Chicken Adobo
- Yield: 3 servings
Ingredients
- 6 pc bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- ¼ cup soy sauce (see note)
- ⅓ cup Filipino cane vinegar (see note)
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion, short juliennes
- 3 bay leaves
- Chopped cilantro or green onions for garnish
- Jasmine rice for serving
Kitchen Tools & Ingredients I Use
Notes:
I use Filipino soy sauce for this, but you can use Japanese or Chinese soy sauce as well. I would not use Thai soy sauce for this because it's so much lighter and it won't have the same rich colour and flavour. Although you could try using Thai soy sauce and add some black/dark soy sauce to it.
Filipino cane vinegar is labeled "Sukang Maasim." It is quite widely available at Asian grocery stores. It has smoother, milder flavour than white vinegar. You can also use any mild-flavoured vinegar that you think has a smooth, pleasant flavour. My rule of thumb is, if you can taste it straight up (just a tiny taste!) and it doesn't make your mouth pucker, it should be fine.
Want to save this recipe?
We can email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Instructions
- Combine soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper in a casserole dish or a zip-top bag.
- Trim off excess fat from the chicken, then add the chicken to the marinade. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.
- In a medium sized pot or skillet just wide enough to fit all the chicken in one layer, add a little vegetable oil and onions. Cook the onions, stirring frequently, over medium low heat until the caramelized, soft and sweet. If you notice that the pan has a lot of browned bits stuck to the bottom, deglaze with a bit of water. When the onions are almost done, add garlic and bay leaves and cook for a few more minutes until the onions are done.
- Push the onions to one side of the pan then add a little oil to the empty space. Turn the heat up to medium high and wait for the pan to get hot. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down and let sear for a minute or two to brown the skin.
- Once browned, flip the chicken and add the marinade. Add a little more water so that the sauce comes up right under the chicken skin (about ¾ submerged). Cover and turn the heat to low so the liquid is gently bubbling. Braise for 30 minutes or until the chicken is fork tender. If you want you can flip the chicken at about halfway through.
- When the chicken is done braising, if you wish to concentrate the sauce further, you can open the lid and reduce the sauce over high heat for another few minutes.
- Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Garnish with chopped green onion and/or cilantro and serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!
Beryl says
Tastes great everytime! Easy and delicious.
Stephen Chan says
Great recipe, but I do agree it needs some sugar for a better balance
Leiz says
Absolutely love this version. Not as salty!
Oatsie says
My whole family really enjoyed this dish. I did add 1 tbsp of brown sugar to the marinade, as other recipes had this ingredient. I also used a mixture of white / cider vinegar as I didn't have the correct vinegar. It's so tasty and very easy to make. Will definitely be making it again.
Tommy says
Awesome, 100% needs sugar tho. Onions won't add enough sweetness. i added about 2 tablespoons and a little bit of stevia and MSG.
Uvez says
Made this quite a few times and everyone that tried it really loved it. I'm having a get together at my house this weekend and planned on making burgers but everyone is asking me to make this instead, how would I go about doing this to make about 30 pieces of chicken?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
You'd need to sear off the chicken in batches, then cook them all in one big pot. You'll need to add enough liquid/seasoning to submerge the chicken.
sqearly says
What type of pan/pot did you use? Did the cane vinegar react with the metal?
Adam The HTK Minion says
Hi! It's stainless steel in this case so no nothing will react with that one. Cheers! Adam
Kathy N. says
I love this recipe. This is my go to every time. I did add a little splash of red boat fish sauce. I can’t even think of making this in the instant pot. Those onions needs to caramelize. Thank you for sharing this!
Adam The HTK Minion says
Awesome! .. and yeah Red Boat's the best 🙂
Luke Parlor says
I made the Pork and Pineapple Adobo before I tried this one. While you can notice the similarities, this dish is also quite different. I really enjoyed the cleanest of it. This is simple ingredients done well.