Filipino Chicken Adobo
Ingredients
- 3½ lbs bone-in chicken thighs (6 to 8), trimmed (see substitutions note below)
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1 (13.5-oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
- ½ cup rice or cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
- White rice, for serving
Instructions
- Toss the chicken with the soy sauce in a large, shallow bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove the chicken from the soy sauce, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Transfer the chicken, skin side down, to a cold 12-in (30-cm) nonstick skillet. Set the soy sauce aside.
- Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook until the skin is crisp and dark golden, 8 to 10 minutes. While the chicken is browning, whisk the coconut milk, vinegar, sugar, and pepper into the soy sauce.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate and discard the fat in the skillet. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel. Pour the soy sauce-coconut milk mixture into the pan; add the garlic and bay leaves. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 35 minutes, or until the chicken registers 175°F (80°C). Transfer the chicken to a platter and keep warm by tenting loosely with aluminum foil.
- Fish out the bay leaves and skim any noticeable fat off the surface of the sauce. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (if it is too assertive, add a few tablespoons of water and/or a bit more sugar). Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with the scallions. Serve with rice. (Note: if you'd like the skin to be extra crispy, place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes before serving.)
Notes
- Drumsticks, similar to chicken thighs in terms of flavor and juiciness, are a great alternative. If you'd like to use white meat, use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. If you'd like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, skip the first cooking step of searing the skin, and reduce the simmering time to about 20 minutes.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: This dish is wonderful prepared ahead of time. After reheating, transfer the chicken to a foil-lined baking sheet, skin side up, and quickly crisp the skin under the broiler.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.