Chicken Adobo Recipe
Bone-in chicken thighs braised in a 1:1 soy-vinegar sauce with garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns — reduced to a glossy dark glaze. The classic Filipino braise that gets better the next day.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2½ lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs about 4–5 pieces (1.1 kg)
Braising Liquid
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar or white cane vinegar (120ml)
- ½ cup soy sauce regular, not low-sodium (120ml)
- ½ cup water 120ml
Aromatics
- 8 garlic cloves peeled and lightly crushed
- 2 bay leaves dried
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns 3g
For Searing
- 2 tbsp neutral oil vegetable, canola, or sunflower (30ml)
- 1 tsp sugar optional — add at end if sauce is too sharp
Instructions
- Combine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat. Marinate 1 hour at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate up to 8 hours.
- Remove chicken from marinade and pat completely dry — this step is critical for browning. Reserve the marinade. Heat oil in a wide heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear chicken skin-side down without moving, 4–5 minutes, until deep golden brown. Flip and sear the other side, 2–3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Pour reserved marinade into the pot along with the water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Return chicken to pot, skin-side up.
- Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, turning chicken halfway through.
- Uncover and increase heat to medium. Simmer 15–20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the sauce reduces to a thick, glossy glaze that clings to the chicken. Watch closely — the sauce can go from perfect to scorched in under 2 minutes once thick. Taste — if sharper than you'd like, add sugar ½ tsp at a time.
- Serve over steamed white rice, spooning sauce generously over everything.
Notes
The raw marinade will taste aggressively salty and sharp — that is correct. The vinegar mellows substantially during the 50-minute cook. Do not dilute the ratio. If the finished sauce tastes too salty: add ¼ cup water, simmer 5 minutes, taste again. Adobo tastes better the next day — make ahead and refrigerate overnight if time allows. For adobo sa gata (coconut milk version): after the reduction stage, stir in ¾ cup (180ml) full-fat coconut milk and simmer 8–10 minutes without aggressive reduction.