Chicken Adobo Recipe: The Traditional Filipino Dish

It’s no secret that adobo is the star of Filipino food. A great combination of soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and vinegar, adobo is fairly popular in the US as well. This chicken adobo recipe has everything you’re looking for — savory, sweet, and a bit spicy. It can be ready in 30 minutes and is very easy to prepare.

This chicken adobo recipe just might be the best way to make use of chicken thighs. They become incredibly soft and tender that they melt in your mouth. Usually served with steamed rice, this one’s a textbook recipe that is simple, but elegant.

Jump to:

• Chicken Adobo Recipe Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Chicken Adobo Recipe Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Pro Tips
• Chicken Adobo Recipe
• Comments

Chicken Adobo Recipe Ingredients

• Chicken thighs — 2 pounds, boneless and skinless
• Soy sauce — 1 cup
• Garlic — 5 cloves
• Onion — 1 pc., finely chopped
• Vegetable oil — 1 ½ tbsp.
• White vinegar — 1 cup.
• Bay leaves — 3 pcs.
• Rice — for serving

Instructions

1. Combine the chicken thighs with garlic, onion, vinegar, soy sauce, and bay leaves in a bowl.

2. Marinate in your fridge for 1-3 hours.

3. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet.

4. Add chicken to the skillet, browning on both sides, for a few minutes.

5. Remove from the skillet and add the onions and garlic. Cook until translucent.

6. Add the bay leaves and transfer the marinade into the skillet. Bring to a boil.

7. Place the chicken back in, and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

8. Flip the chicken every once in a while, so that both sides can cook evenly.

9. Cook until the sauce is thickened and reaches the desired consistency.

10. Serve with steamed rice.

Substitutions

• Light soy sauce — While light soy sauce can be a useful replacement, keep in mind that it lacks the saltiness that comes with regular soy sauce. If you decide to go with the light soy sauce, make sure that you add some salt to the recipe.

• Rice vinegar — This one is an ideal substitute for white vinegar. Make sure to use an unseasoned one.

Chicken Adobo Recipe Variations

• Bone-in and skin-on — Although the eating experience might differ from person to person, bone-in chicken thighs provide a different, layered, and more complex taste that the boneless ones just simply don’t have, as the flavor inside the bone will spread around. Try it!

• Filipino cane vinegar — If you prefer more authenticity, you can use Filipino cane vinegar, which is the traditional ingredient in adobo sauce. This should be easy to find in any Asian store. It has a somewhat sweeter taste than your average American vinegar.

Equipment

• Medium-sized skillet

• Measuring spoons and cups

• Mixing bowl

Storage

• Due to the vinegar, your chicken adobo can be stored in your fridge for more than a week, in an airtight container.

Pro Tips

• Marinating — Due to the acidity of the vinegar, we don’t recommend marinating your chicken adobo for more than three hours, as it will affect the texture of the chicken.

• Rest overnight — After cooking, it is recommended that you rest it overnight in your fridge, as the vinegar will mellow in time. This will result in a more layered taste.