Filipino Chicken Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines and may well become your new favourite Asian chicken dish! Just a few everyday ingredients I can practically guarantee you already have, it’s an effortless recipe that yields juicy, tender chicken coated in a sweet savoury glaze with little pops of heat from peppercorns.
This is a chicken thigh recipe and it MUST be made with thighs – no substituting with chicken breast!
Filipino Chicken Adobo
Filipino Chicken Adobo is one of the first chicken thigh recipes I shared way back in 2015 when I started this website. Back then, I boldly stated that this was my new favourite Asian chicken recipe even it was thoroughly disloyal of me to say that, being of Japanese background and all (Teriyaki, Karaage and Yakitori….to name a few….).
To be honest, I may have embellished a wee bit. Blinded by the excitement of discovering Chicken Adobo, how unbelievably easy it is for a dish that yields such incredible flavour,
Check out how sticky the sauce is! It truly tastes as incredible as it looks. And it’s SO EASY with just a HANDFUL of ingredients!
What you need
Filipino Chicken Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines and like all traditional dishes, there are many variations – including different proteins like pork and beef.
Fundamentally though, the key ingredients are the right balance of soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper and sugar that create an incredibly sticky glaze that has a depth of flavour like it’s been slow cooked – but it’s not!
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boneless skinless chicken thighs – cannot substitute with breast, need the fat to transform sauce into a glaze;
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soy sauce – all purpose or light soy sauce. NOT dark soy sauce (bottle will be labelled as such if it’s dark soy sauce);
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white vinegar – just everyday, plain white vinegar. Sub with any clear vinegar, including rice wine, apple cider, sherry vinegar;
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onion and garlic;
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peppercorns – or coarse cracked pepper;
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sugar – brown best, white ok;
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bay leaves – fresh or dried, not the end of the world if you don’t have; and
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green onion – optional garnish
How to make Filipino Chicken Adobo
And here’s how to make it. Basically, you marinate the chicken briefly, sear the chicken, then simmer it in the pan with the marinade for 25 minutes. It will look watery right up until the last few minutes, then all of a sudden, the liquid transforms magically into a syrupy glaze!
What Chicken Adobo tastes like
The glaze of Filipino Chicken Adobo is savoury and sweet with a hint of tang, with a distinct soy flavour. The garlic and onion creates a savoury base along with the bay leaves, and the peppercorns add little subtle pops of heat.
Don’t be afraid of the peppercorns in this! The spiciness is tempered from both the cooking time and the strength of the flavour of the sauce so it becomes a flavour enhancer rather than fiery spiciness.
And finally, the chicken itself. It’s incredibly tender, owing to the cook time. Chicken thighs only take about 6 to 8 minutes to cook on the stove, so simmering them in sauce for 25 minutes yields thighs that are so tender inside, it’s like you’ve slow cooked them for hours.
What to serve with Chicken Adobo
Rice to soak up the sauce is essential! Though if you’re counting calories, I can highly recommend Cauliflower Rice – pictured in the first photo in the post alongside Smashed Cucumbers for a seriously delicious dinner plate clocking in at a grand total of just 415 calories.
You may not use all the sauce this Filipino Chicken Adobo recipe makes. It is quite strong, so have a taste before dousing your entire plate with it.
As you can see in the photos, I do not hold back. 😂 – Nagi x
PS If you do have leftover sauce, don’t throw it out! That stuff is GOLD. I use it to make Filipino Chicken Adobo fried rice – just fry up cooked rice with chopped up pieces of this chicken, some chopped Asian greens and the sauce. The sauce is so flavoursome that you don’t need anything else!
Watch how to make it
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Filipino Chicken Adobo (Flavour Kapow!)
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 750g / 1.5 lb chicken thigh fillets , boneless and skinless (5 - 6 pieces) (Note 1)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/3 cup (85ml) soy sauce , ordinary all purpose or light (not dark soy sauce, Note 2)
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 4 bay leaves (fresh) or 3 dried
For cooking
- 2 tbsp oil , separated (vegetable, canola or peanut)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 small brown onion , diced
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) water
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp whole black pepper (sub 2 tsp coarse cracked pepper)
Serving:
- 2 green onions/scallions , sliced (garnish)
Instructions
- Combine Chicken and Marinade ingredients in a bowl. Marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to overnight.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet over high heat. Remove chicken from marinade (reserve marinade) and place in the pan. Sear both sides until browned – about 1 minute on each side. Do not cook the chicken all the way through.
- Remove chicken skillet and set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in skillet. Add garlic and onion, cook 1 1/2 minutes.
- Add the reserved marinade, water, sugar and black pepper. Bring it to a simmer then turn heat down to medium high. Simmer 5 minutes.
- Add chicken smooth side down. Simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes (no need to stir), turning chicken at around 15 minutes, until the sauce reduces down to a thick jam-like syrup.
- If the sauce isn't thick enough, remove chicken onto a plate and let the sauce simmer by itself - it will thicken much quicker - then return chicken to the skillet to coat in the glaze.
- Coat chicken in glaze then serve over rice. Pictured in post as a healthy dinner plate (415 calories) with cauliflower rice and Ginger Smashed Cucumbers.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published February 2015. Updated January 2019 with brand new photos, step photos, video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!!
Life of Dozer
Dozer started 2019 the same way as he finished it – in the POOL!!
Sadia says
I’ve never had chicken adobo before but this was delicious and so easy!
Lorena says
Very disappointed. I’ve never added brown sugar to my chicken adobo before. I feel that ruined thectexioe. I’m not Philipino but, my grandfather is. I’m sorry but, I might throw this out. The brown sugar makes taste like a Korean dish.
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Paul Hernandez says
100% AMAZING!!! I used the thighs w/ bone & skin & this turned out fantastic. My wife & daughter loved it. My sauce did reduce down to almost jelly or jam like consistency, and yes I saved every bit left over. Thank you Nagi for such a wonderful & flavorful dish. This one’s going into rotation!!!
Valerie Johnston says
Have made this numerous times, however my sauce doesn’t become like jam consistency 🤔
Paula A Foster says
Loved this
Delwyn says
I used your excellent chicken adobo recipe to surprise a Filippina friend of mine. She was delighted. Thank you.
Justin says
This has become a regular dish. So damn tasty and easy. I haven’t managed to get the sauce to reduce to the ‘ jam-like syrup’ following the recipe but I love it saucy and usually cook veges in it after the chicken is done.
Emily says
Best chicken adobo recipe ever. I added potatoes and it was so good. The potatoes sucked up the flavor so well.
Lucie says
My family and I have been using this recipe since it came out and it is SO good. We do use chicken breasts (sorry Nagi) so we add a little bit more sesame oil and another onion and it’s comes out heavenly EVERY TIME. So incredibly good. Thank you for the easy, quick, and flavor kapow family dinner! Can’t wait for the book to be available in the states!
Kate says
My family are fighting over the last bit of chicken and licking the bowl clean! Amazing!!
Randi says
Can I substitute coconut aminos
MEC says
Randi – I had the same question. Nagi noted in an old comment (April 2020) “…coconut aminos are the best sub for soy sauce if you have a soy allergy and can’t have Tamari 🙂 N x”
Garry Louis says
So easy and very tasty , my wife loved it.
jlo says
thank you.. I love this recipe.. it is a favorite of ours moving forward.. i enjoy good food and i liked this recipe very much.. alittle asian cuisine that will be part of me for the rest of my life.
Lilly says
Could you slow cook this recipe?
Christine says
Excellent chicken adobo! I love adding toasted garlic bits on top of chicken or mixed into my rice. Super delicious family wants this every week!
anon says
so so tasty ! made this since it sounded easy as a beginner cook and it turned out wonderful ^_^ overcooked it a bit since i was scared of having it raw but will make sure to cook for a little less next time
Persiasblossom says
Do I cook the drumsticks 30 minutes total or is it in addition to the 25?
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I love your receipts
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