Dinner Tonight: Chicken Adobo
Chicken Adobo is a Filipino dish I first cooked in a class at The Chopping Block cooking school in Chicago, and I was amazed at how delicious it was, despite its relatively easy preparation—just dump everything into a pot and simmer. In the class, our instructor billed it as an example of braising, the process of cooking something half-submerged in liquid over gentle heat. I remember its exciting, vinegary flavors that were mellowed in the cooking process so they were no longer harsh. That, and the haunting flavor of garlic.
My attempt to make the recipe at home, though, turned out all wrong, so I abandoned the dish until recently. Haunting flavors have a way of coming back without any explanation. Stuck with a craving and determined to find a good recipe, I found myself at A Smart Mouth, which had a good distillation of what most recipes I found had: lots of garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. It also had an interesting use of balsamic vinegar, which I imagined would bring a depth of flavor you wouldn't find with another kind—even if it was a little less authentic.
I was pretty happy with the recipe, though I shortened it considerably by skipping the 3-4 hour marinating in vinegar. I’m sure there are more involved, authentic ways to go about this dish, but I liked this one for its simplicity.
Chicken Adobo
-serves 2-3-
Adapted from A Smart Mouth
Ingredients
6 skin-on bone in chicken thighs or 4 legs
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 whole head garlic
2 bay leaves
Procedure
1. Separate the cloves of garlic from each other and smash them lightly with the flat side of a knife to easily remove the skins. Add them with the rest of the ingredients—the chicken should be half-submerged—to a heavy pot. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes, then uncover and continue cooking until the chicken is tender, turning the pieces occasionally.
2. If desired, remove the chicken pieces and reduce the sauce to a thicker consistency, adding the chicken pieces back in near the end to reheat. Remove the bay leaves and serve with rice.
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21 Comments:
This looks delicious! And anything with that much garlic must be... I can't wait to try it.
woodenspoon at 4:37PM on 06/25/09
I normally toss the chicken pieces under the broiler before serving to get the skin nice and crispy.
mrsshotglass at 4:48PM on 06/25/09
Balsamic vinegar? A bold move, indeed.
Kwagstaff at 5:54PM on 06/25/09
Ah, even though the Philippines is a hodgepodge of cultural influences, adobo is like our national dish! And even though I don't eat my grandma's chicken and pork adobo anymore (I went vegetarian, much to her initial non-delight), pretty much anything can be made adobo-style, like fried eggplant, green beans or okra. Serve it over rice and you're good to go!
Marvin over at Burnt Lumpia also has a rockin' take on the quintessential Pinoy dish. Now that I've been reminded of its deliciousness, I'm thinking I might have to make this over the weekend...
Lorena at 6:04PM on 06/25/09
Hi Blake! I'm from the Philippines and I gotta say, you should try making this with pork, as Lorena mentioned. Ups the flavor at least 10-fold! Throw in some garlic fried rice...mmmmm...good thing my keyboard is water(drool)proof. Yum! ^_^
ryushin at 6:17PM on 06/25/09
I made chicken adobo for the first time recently and loved it - the only weird thing about it was that the garlic turned blue. I found out that was a side effect from the vinegar. Weird, but very tasty!
sandwichnyc at 9:41PM on 06/25/09
i just had chicken adobo this weekend. i used the recipe from the burnt lumpia blog-one of the best filipino food blogs out there. yum!
dmarina at 10:50PM on 06/25/09
I have made the Mark Bittmann "How to Cook Everything" recipe for this many times. I finish the chicken on the grill, serve chicken and thickened sauce over basmati rice, and usually add some chopped cilantro and cracked red pepper on top. I've also added in stir fried asparagus. LOVE it!
Remander at 12:14AM on 06/26/09
After having tried a couple of Chicken Adobo recipes from SI that had ginger among the ingredients -- and having been told in no uncertain terms by Filipino friends that ginger did not belong in this dish, I am very much looking forward to trying this and getting a more favorable review from my friends.
For the record, I didn't find anything wrong with the recipes that included ginger...but when I'm told (by someone who ought to know) that an ingredient should not be there, I hesitate to include that item again.
Chou Peng Qart at 12:45AM on 06/26/09
I make sure to cook it down until the meat (chicken and/or pork) fries in the rendered fat. Fry it nice and brown. The crispy bits are the best parts. To complete the meal - serve it with rice just out of the rice cooker. Heaven.
fmedr at 1:38AM on 06/26/09
When my father makes adobo, he says he puts a yellow spice in it for color. I don't remember the tagalog name for it but I am thinking it's turmeric or cumin. He and my mother also say no ginger in the recipe.
The BEST adobo I've had was the pork belly adobo from Valerio's in San Jose. I couldn't stop eating it! It is a sometime food as the fat was so thick, but delish nonetheless. Frying the meat after cooking is the best part with the crispy, vinegary bits.
geenersaurus at 1:58AM on 06/26/09
Geenersaurus - do dilaw or atsuete sound like what your father puts in his adobo?
This sounds like an interesting take on an old favorite. I might swap black vinegar for the balsamic to keep things a little more economical. Like other commenters I agree that reducing the braising liquid and frying the meat and smashed garlic until crisp is a must. That concentrated sauce served over the crunchy chicken skin is addictive.
JungMan at 11:22AM on 06/26/09
to geebersarus: my mom adds achiote. i think that is the magic filipino spice.
i can't wait to try this recipe. my mom doesn't use measurements, so any interpretation she has tried to pass onto me has failed!
shannona at 11:25AM on 06/26/09
Throw in some pork ribs or pork belly and it's even more fantastic!
flegs at 12:32PM on 06/26/09
@Geenersaurus, I agree with shannona that it's probably achiote or some annato seed product. It doesn't have a strong flavor (unlike cumin) , is used for coloring, and is used in Filipino cooking.
thesteveroller at 2:08PM on 06/26/09
@geenersaurus: I'll join the discussion on achiote/turmeric/cumin. It's almost certainly achiote/annato, as that's part of the Goya Adobo spice blend. (Plus it does have a mild flavor, particularly compared to cumin)
toad3000 at 2:37PM on 06/26/09
I adore adobo and eat it at least every couple of weeks. I follow roughly the same recipe formula as most, and definitely third/fourth? the pork lovers. A friend told me the secret to adobo is not to stir the stew for about 15 min after adding the vinegar. Not sure if there's any basis to that, as I've never been brave enough to find out :)
tatianak at 2:49PM on 06/26/09
Just finished eating this dish. It was absolutely delicious, thank you!
Junado at 7:33PM on 06/30/09
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I used white balsamic, and finished it off on the grill, though the skin was plenty crispy without the grill time. This recipe will be a keeper!
Jane917 at 12:22AM on 07/03/09
are balsamic vinegar and soy sauce the only liquid ingredients to add to the pot w/ the chicken and garlic? do you need to add a little water to make sure there's enough liquid to 1/2 way cover the chicken?
simplyswt1130 at 9:23PM on 07/08/09
@simplysw1130 It depends on the size of the pot, I think. It shouldn't be necessary with a snug pot, but it won't hurt to add water, since you can always cook it off later when you reduce the sauce.
Blake Royer at 9:56AM on 07/09/09