Filipino Chicken Adobo Recipe

5 from 3 votes

A vinegar-braised chicken dish from the Philippines with a soy sauce base.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1

Total Time2

Course: Chicken

Cuisine: Filipino

Keyword: adobong manok, chicken adobo

Servings: people

Calories: 497kcal

Author: Daisy Merano

Combine soy sauce, peppercorns, garlic, and bay leaves in a large bowl. Stir.
1 tablespoon whole peppercorn, 8 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 5 pieces dried bay leaves
Add the sliced chicken piece by piece. Make sure that the chicken gets coated with soy sauce. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours to marinate the chicken.
2 lbs. chicken
Heat oil in a pot.
3 tablespoons cooking oil
Put the chicken pieces gently into the pot. Cook each side for 2 minutes.
2 lbs. chicken
Pour the remaining marinade into the pot. Add chicken broth (or water). Let boil. Cover the pot and cook in low heat for 10 minutes.
1 cup chicken broth
Pour the vinegar in the pot. Let the liquid re-boil. Continue simmering for 30 minutes.
1/2 cup white vinegar
Add the sugar. Continue to cook until the sauce reduces to your desired consistency.
1 teaspoon sugar
Serve with warm white rice.

Use a non-reactive pot. Stainless steel or enameled cookware works best. Vinegar can react with aluminum or uncoated metal and leave a sharp, metallic taste in the sauce.
Avoid stirring right after adding vinegar. Let it boil on its own first before mixing. Stirring too early can give the dish a raw acidic bite that doesn’t mellow out during cooking.
Taste at the end, not midway. The sauce changes flavor as it reduces. Sampling too early might lead you to adjust something that would have turned out right after simmering.
Store for better flavor the next day. Adobo tastes even better after resting in the fridge overnight. The sauce thickens slightly and the chicken deepens in flavor.
Stick to white vinegar. It’s the most common choice and gives the cleanest finish. Apple cider or cane vinegar also work, but they each shift the taste profile in different ways.