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!!
Davey says
This is a very classic recipe for adobo. However, I am really puzzled by the addition of a cup and a half of water. I just simmer the chicken the leftover marinade of soy/vinegar and even that needs to reduce at the end to make it more sauce-like. An extra 12 ounces of water would turn this into soup. ???
Steve says
It is water, so it evaporates. You don’t want to add water and stir it only. You want to cook the water, so you are left with the adobo sauce.
Stephanie says
I didn’t find the addition of water made the sauce watery. Mine evaporated nicely. I did add red peppers and mushrooms to incorporate veggies and steamed some broccoli. My kids love this dish 🙏
Kimberly says
absolutely loved it! so quick! i barely had to do anything!
Stacey Angderson says
I cooked this for my Filipino family and my in-laws said that this is the best adobo chicken they have tasted. Thank you!
Scott says
Recipetineats consistently delivers delicious and reliable recipes. Thanks so much, Nagi, you are a star!
Nagi says
Awwww Scott! I’m blushing!! N x
Mary says
This was absolutely delicious. Thank you.
Sherry says
Mine didn’t reduce properly. Is it because I used a lid?
AD says
Yes, it needs to cook without a lid
PAMELA J MCGUIRE says
I will be using bone- in chicken…do I use ONLY the 3/4 cup water or do I add the 3/4 cup to the 1 1/2 cups called for in recipe?
Scott says
My experience with making this bone-in and skin-on is that there ends up being a lot of fat, so trim very well. It can become a bit of a grease-fest. As the sauce reduces, the fat becomes overwhelming in the end result.
Anne Layno Hayter says
I’m Filipino. It is actually made with a whole chicken, so you can use breast. Best eaten with rice, and no cutlery, if you can master it.
Nayna says
Fellow Filipino here. The breast is not the best part of adobo. It dries out. Yes to whole chicken, as it’s more economical but if we’re doing parts, quarters are better. Nagi is correct in using thighs. Breast would’ve been dry af.
Nagi says
I haven’t tried the no cutlery thing yet!! 😂 N x
Emily says
My Hubby is Filipino and he LOVES this recipe! I put the peppercorns in a cheesecloth or a tea diffuser so you aren’t playing Russian Roulette with every bite lol 😂 Great recipe!
Pam says
Thanks for responding. I always remove chicken skin so I didn’t really notice a problem.
Nagi says
That’s a great idea Emily! N X
Fiona says
This was my first time cooking and eating A Filipino dish and I loved it. Will be cooking it again.
Will Muse says
I am making with bone in thighs that I cut into 4 portions each, just like I had in Tumon.
Nagi says
Let me know how it turns out Will! N x
Belinda says
My daughter who “hates” chicken requests this for dinner at least once a week .. amazing flavour and so easy to make .. love your work Nagi💙
Harold says
This adds to my list of Filipino adobo variations. Easy to make and everyone loved it. Doubled up on the recipe except for the brown sugar (x1.5) – the rice wine vinegar is somewhat sweet already. The dish turned-out out as directed. Will definitely make this again. 2 thumbs up!!!
Jess M says
Just made it. This recipe is now added to the clean plate club. Super easy to make and incredibly delicious. I replaced the white onion with red halfed and thinly sliced, sliced garlic too. Only thing I’d add personally next time is a chili to add some spice but will make this again for sure!!!
Pat Pingle says
love it
Pat Pingle says
hi—love your recipes–have been making this for years–got recipe from a Philippine nurse at a pot luck dinner—I marinate equal amts. vinegar, dark soy , whole garlic, bay leaves 24hrs than put in oven everyone loves it–your salad recipes are wonderful thank you
Kim says
Hi Pat, just saw your comment about dark soy? I only have dark soy in my pantry. Does it still work even though Nagi says not to use it? Don’t want to have to but more soy even though it’s not expensive it’s just I try to reduce how much we have
Tim says
Never had this before, this was fantastic and will be a new staple in my winter menu rotation. I can’t wait to make this for my kids.
Patty says
My husband loved it!
Christine says
I plan to make this for a large group and may need to triple or quadruple (!) the recipe. Anyone have experience making this in large quantities and any tips on doing it successfully? Can I make it the night before and will it reheat well? Reheating in microwave is probably the best for this dish, right?
Viv says
Adobo actually tastes even better the next day.
Scott says
I just doubled it and it worked great. Unless you have a huge pan to work with for double batches, the reduction time on the sauce takes longer. So, as Nagi suggests, take the chicken out when reducing so it doesn’t overcook.
Carrie says
Could I substitute with rice wine vinegar?
Nagi says
Yes you can Carrie but it will be a bit sweeter. N x
Arianelle Aguilos says
Loved it!