The Best Filipino Chicken Adobo
This savory yet tangy chicken dish only requires a few ingredients and lets the marinade do all the work for a flavorful and easy Filipino dish you can make in your own kitchen. {Gluten-Free}
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs skin-on bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks (or boneless skinless thighs)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 3 cloves garlic , crushed with the side of knife
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large onion , sliced into rings
- 4 carrots , peeled and chopped (Optional) (*Footnote 1)
Marinade
- 1 cup Fillipino cane vinegar (or 3/4 cup white vinegar / cider vinegar diluted with 1/4 cup water)
- 1/4 cup lime juice , freshly squeezed
- 1 cup soy sauce
Instructions
- Combine the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag. Add chicken and shake to mix well. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Let marinate in the fridge overnight.
- When you’re ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a plate. Reserve the marinade juice.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or a dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add the chicken, skin side down. Cook until browned, flip to brown the other side. It takes about 10 minutes in total.
- Add the reserved marinade liquid, garlic, whole black pepper, brown sugar, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then turn to medium low heat. Cover, simmer, until the chicken turns tender, 40 minutes for well-done chicken. Or up to 60 minutes for falling-off-the-bone chicken.
- Add the onion rings and carrots. Cook uncovered for another 5 minutes, until the vegetable turns tender.
- Serve hot as a main dish with steamed rice.
Notes
- The recipe is slightly adapted from The Filipino Cookbook by my Miki Garcia.
- Authentic chicken adobo does not contain this vegetable, but I love to add some veggies to make my fish more colorful. You can skip it, or use other veggies as substitution, such as potatoes or broccoli.
Nutrition
Serving: 8g, Calories: 209kcal, Carbohydrates: 7.3g, Protein: 25.8g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 76mg, Sodium: 695mg, Potassium: 365mg, Fiber: 1.3g, Sugar: 3.6g, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 1.4mg