Chicken Adobo Recipe
Bone-in chicken thighs braised in a 1:1 soy-vinegar sauce with garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns — reduced to a glossy dark glaze. The classic Filipino braise that gets better the next day.
Ingredients
Instructions
Combine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat. Marinate 1 hour at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate up to 8 hours.
Remove chicken from marinade and pat completely dry — this step is critical for browning. Reserve the marinade. Heat oil in a wide heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear chicken skin-side down without moving, 4–5 minutes, until deep golden brown. Flip and sear the other side, 2–3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Pour reserved marinade into the pot along with the water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Return chicken to pot, skin-side up.
Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, turning chicken halfway through.
Uncover and increase heat to medium. Simmer 15–20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the sauce reduces to a thick, glossy glaze that clings to the chicken. Watch closely — the sauce can go from perfect to scorched in under 2 minutes once thick. Taste — if sharper than you'd like, add sugar ½ tsp at a time.
Serve over steamed white rice, spooning sauce generously over everything.
Nutrition
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein Content
- 32 g
- Fat Content
- 29 g
- Carbohydrate Content
- 5 g
- Sugar Content
- 1 g
- Sodium Content
- 870 mg
- Saturated Fat Content
- 7 g
- Cholesterol Content
- 145 mg
- Serving Size
- 1 serving
