Chicken adobo

Name: Chicken adobo
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 people
Cuisine: filipino
Ingredients: 900 g Chicken, thighs, bone-in if possible; 120 ml Vinegar, cane or coconut vinegar if you can; 80 ml Soy sauce; 8 clove Garlic, crushed; 3 piece Bay leaf; 1 tsp Black pepper, whole peppercorns, lightly crushed; 1 tsp Sugar; 120 ml Water; 400 g Rice, uncooked, to serve; 2 piece Spring onion

Adobong manok

Filipino chicken braised in vinegar, soy, garlic and pepper — a method more than a single official recipe.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Adobong manok.

0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.

Start cooking

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 1 hr
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Source photograph of Chicken adobo. Not official I Want Some Food pixel artwork. — Photo: Kabu Sawsaw via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

About

Adobo means to braise in acid and salt. Filipino chicken adobo is garlic, vinegar, often soy sauce, bay, peppercorns, and a reduction that turns glossy. Every family is sure theirs is correct. This one is soy-and-vinegar balanced, chicken thigh, and a finish where you reduce the sauce until it clings. Serve with rice. Always rice.

Ingredients

Servings

Chicken, thighs, bone-in if possible900 g
Vinegar, cane or coconut vinegar if you can120 ml
Soy sauce80 ml
Garlic, crushed8 clove
Bay leaf3
Black pepper, whole peppercorns, lightly crushed4.9 ml
Sugar (optional)4.9 ml
Water120 ml
Rice, uncooked, to serve400 g
Spring onion (optional)2

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
In a bowl, combine chicken, vinegar, soy, garlic, bay and pepper. Marinate 20 minutes if you have them; skip if you don't.
20 min
Step 2
Tip everything into a pot, add water, and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, uncovered, 30–35 minutes, turning the chicken now and then.
35 min
Step 3
Lift chicken out. Reduce the sauce until glossy and slightly syrupy, 5–8 minutes. Taste: sour, salty, garlicky. A pinch of sugar only if the vinegar shouts.
8 min
Step 4
Return chicken to coat. For extra flavour, you can brown the chicken in a little of the fat before the simmer, or crisp the skin in a pan at the end.
5 min
Tip: Some families fry first; some simmer first. Both are adobo.
Step 5
Serve with rice and a little sauce. The leftover sauce is why you cooked extra rice.

Adapt this recipe

The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 24 August.

Substitutions

Chicken → Pork belly or shoulder
Adobong baboy. Simmer longer until tender.
Soy sauce → Salt only
A soy-free regional style. Increase salt carefully and keep the vinegar.

Tips

Do not use balsamic. It is the wrong sour.
Adobo improves overnight. The fridge is part of the method.

History & culture

Adobo is weekday food and celebration food. Regional versions skip soy, add coconut milk, or use pork. Calling one plate 'the authentic adobo' is how you start an argument at a party. We are offering a Manila-leaning home pot.

Vinegar-and-salt preservation predates Spanish naming. Soy sauce in many modern adobos reflects Chinese influence. The Spanish word 'adobo' stuck to a Philippine method that was already there.

Regional variation — Soy sauce included (many households). Cane vinegar preferred. Coconut milk not used here — that's a regional fork.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Photograph: Kabu Sawsaw via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chicken%20Adobo%20with%20Potatoes.jpg