Chicken Adobo
By Audrey Plant
Ingredients
3 pounds (about 10 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
6-8 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
⅔ cup soy sauce or tamari
¼ cup rice vinegar
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups water
¼ cup green onion, finely chopped for garnish
Instructions
Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. In a medium mixing bowl, add garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and lemon juice. Mix until combined.
Add chicken thighs into the wet mixture and evenly coat each piece of chicken. Place plastic wrap over top and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Using a large saucepan, preheat the pan with olive oil on medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs into the pan, skin side down. Sear for 4-5 minutes. Remove chicken and place on a plate or sheet pan, set aside.
After all of the chicken has been seared. Add marinade(including garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves) to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add water and scrape the bottom of the pan. Add chicken thighs, skin side up. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken from pan and place on a new plate or sheet pan. Bring remaining sauce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is thickened and reduced by half.
Add chicken back to pan and coat chicken with sauce. Serve warm over white rice.
Notes:
Feel free to substitute the soy sauce with tamari, low sodium soy sauce, or coco aminos.
I personally like chicken thighs with the skin and bone still on, which adds so much flavor. However, this recipe can be done with boneless/skinless chicken thigh, chicken breast, or pork loin. Follow the recipe as is.
When the recipe calls for “smashing” the garlic cloves, take your knife over the top of the garlic clove and using the palm of your hand, hit the knife. The garlic clove should slightly break open but still remain relatively intact.
This recipe calls for fresh lemon juice, which is not necessarily traditional in a Filipino recipe. But my Mom and I find that this recipe really brightens up with the lemon.
Some adobo recipes call for sugar, I personally don’t feel you need sugar in this recipe.
Adobo is naturally salty because of the soy sauce base. If you have a salt sensitivity, pull back half of the soy sauce and dilute it with water. Taste as you go and add more where needed.
