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Simple Filipino Chicken Adobo | Kenji's Cooking Show
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Simple Filipino Chicken Adobo | Kenji’s Cooking Show



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Here’s Alvin Cailan’s Chicken Adobo recipe from Amboy: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-amboy-adobo

Here’s my basic recipe:

2-3 (900 to 1350g) pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
Kosher salt
1-2 tablespoons (15-30ml) neutral oil such as rice bran or canola
A big pinch ground black pepper plus 30-40 whole black peppercorns
15-20 whole cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup (240ml) cane, coconut, or distilled white vinegar
2/3 cup (160ml) Filipino soy sauce (Japanese shoyu or a mix of Chinese dark and light soy sauce works)
5 ounces (145g) brown or palm sugar
A few bay leaves

1. Season the chicken lightly with salt. Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned all over, about 4 minutes.

2. Add the ground and whole black pepper and the garlic and stir to combine. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and bay leaves, and stir to combine.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Turn chicken, cover again, and cook until the chicken is fully tender and the sauce is thick and coats the chicken pieces in a dark glaze. Serve the chicken and sauce with rice.

32 Comments

  2. Evan Hughes

    Warning: distilled white vinegar will strip away seasoning the way it did to my new carbon steel wok. 🙁

  3. anulkilo

    Uncle Roger is waiving.😂😂 I can't wait how he reacts to your Adobo version.

    I'm a filipina but I let uncle roger do his job. By the way the real Adobo that we used to cook we marinate the chicken first for a couple of hours. Braising chicken in soy is for lazy people only.😂😂 That is why it is called adobo derived from the word Adoblar which means to marinate. Spanish-Filipino combination not french… 😅 Be careful on the amount of sugar you put. Your adobo might not be called adobo anymore because of too much sweet instead we will now call it Asado. One thing after you put the vinegar into the pan avoid stirring it. Let the acid evaporates and let it simmer the vinegar to a boil for at least 6 minutes then you stir. Overall, your adobo version is not bad.

  4. The Martian 911

    Another variation is the Adobo sa Puti — just 5 ingredients: pork or chicken( or both), garlic, vinegar, salt, peppercorns.

  5. Francis Ramos

    I love reading all the amazing variations. I prefer to make beef over the chicken but instead of adding sugar straight up sugar, I'll add pineapple juice from the cans and much on the pineapple while I'm waiting.

  7. Lost Quays

    Thank you Kenji ! After viewing a number of other videos with no recipe instructions, I came across yours. So grateful for your video. My chicken is almost done, and I can tell it's going to be a winner! Thanks again !!

  14. Big Papi

    nah nah nah this is fundamental, now if you want to step up yor adobo game, add potatoes or boiled eggs

  16. Christopher Roche

    I made this, and the sauce broke at the end of 30 mins. Not sure if my heat was too high or what. I also think it has to do with the amount of brown sugar I used. The amount of brown sugar in your recipe was about 2/3 cup, which I think was a bit much. With the vinegar, and sugar/soy sauce ratio, my wife and I sorta ended up with heartburn at the end of this.

  18. SB WM

    God I love adobo. I was looking after a sick Pilipino friend, and she asked for this dish as comfort food. So easy to make, and tastes so amazing (and great when you're feeling under the weather, all that salt and chicken goodness).

  20. Josef Der Kaiser

    Usually like durch ovens because you can use them… In the oven. Hate braising on the stove cause I can't leave the house.

  24. DIMKID

    please make a spicy version of it with a lot of Thai chilies or what we call siling labuyo

  30. Angel Angeles III

    I'm Filipino. My recipe for adobo is really simple and doesn't involve sugar. It's just the chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns, lots of garlic, bay leaves and water. It's as basic and as adobo as you can get unless you want pre-colonial style adobo. You can also add fried potatoes as well but that's optional. It's kinda mysterious because even without the sugar, there's a sweet taste coming with it somehow. My soy sauce to vinegar ratio is 1:1. I add water for braising and leave it half covered to almost reduce to only the fat in there. I just add water whenever I think the chicken is still not done. The secret is in the garlic.

    I start the same way as you do it, just sear the chicken. Marinade or brine is optional but I don't find it affecting the taste too much so I just don't marinade it. Just sear the chicken but I want more color so I extract every flavor I can. After the chicken gets some color, I push the chicken to the side of the pan and fry the minced garlic with the chicken until it's golden brown. This gives it that bitter garlicky flavor that Filipinos love. You can also put chilli in there for heat. I then immediately pour in my marinade of 1:1:1.5 ratio of soy sauce, vinegar, and water, then the bay leaves. I usually do around 150ml soy sauce, 150ml vinegar, and around 200ml of water for 1kg of chicken in a shallow pan. It's important to use a shallow pan so that it can reduce easily as the chicken will cook for around 20 minutes. I then reduce it until the sauce is almost dried up. Best served with soft-boiled eggs and plain white rice.

    I believe the simpler the adobo is, the better it tastes.

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