Here we have a classic from the Philippines. I used a recipe by Sho Spaeth via Serious Eats.
I had a lot of soy sauce leftover in form of little bottles by my favorite Sushi restaurant around the corner which I order regularly for home delivery. In addition I had 2 chicken breasts with bone (french cut) as a left over in my fridge. So time to make this Filipino-style Coq au vin.
I reduced the amount of of water, soy sauce and vinegar each by 100ml, as I found the amount too big in the original recipe. Fair to say next time I will also use a low-salt soy sauce. Anyway it is quite a declious dish with lemongrass rice and sweet peas.
Ingredients
1.15kg chicken pieces (skin-on/bon-in) or thighs
4-8 cloves of garlic
220ml water
150ml soy sauce (optional: low-salt soy sauce)
150ml rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 fresh bay leaves (3 dried)
optional: 2 tsp sugar (light muscovado sugar)
Preparation
Heat some oil in a heavy Dutch oven/Casserole and cook the chicken until nicely brown on both sides, around 6min.
Remove the chicken pieces and set aside. Add garlic cloves, pepper and bay leaves and cook for 30seconds. Add water and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
Return chicken pieces to pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 20 minutes, turning the chicken pieces halfway through.
Here is a recipe that I used to make more frequently before the price of short ribs increased.
1.5 cups,chicken stock
1 cup vinegar (sherry or Apple cider)
1 cup coconut milk
0.5 cup soy sauce
1 onion sliced thin strips
1 head garlic separated and pealed
3 chili peppers dried
1 teaspoon black pepper ground
3 pounds short ribs
Put all in crock pot and cook. Remove ribs, take out bones, set aside and keep warm. Transfer broth to sauce pan and boil to desired consistency and taste.
My notes state that I left out bay leaves and that I should add more short ribs, which I assume could also means less liquid.
A majority of the “most helpful” comments there are discussing the vinegar . Some folks thought the amount was way too much but others say this is correct for a Philippine adobo and that issues with the amount likely resulted from using the wrong type of vinegar. A few said they reduced to a half cup with good results. Interesting discussion! Thanks for your recipe and the reference.
Adobo, whether chicken or pork, or both, is a staple Filipino dish, which, curiously enough, I have never cooked myself. I asked the cook about the vinegar matter, she said for every 1kg of chicken or pork, she uses 1/2 cup of vinegar (a ubiquitous brand of white cane vinegar). That said, as it’s a dish more made/served at home rather than elsewhere, pretty much every household has its own recipe. There are, of course, also general regional/provincial variations.
As Luis says, I’ve been told the type of vinegar to use is white cane vinegar which can be found in Asian markets, the brand we use is Datu Puti. It’s also important to let the liquid mixture boil for a while,after adding the vinegar as that helps cut the sharpness.
I do a little non-traditional: frying up bacon in coconut oil to start and adding a nub of ginger, deglazing with fish sauce, and some chili oil for a bit of spice. I like the idea of a hint of coconut but not using milk.
If I feel like it needs more vinegar, I’ll add a little bit at the end to taste
The best chicken adobo recipe, other than my better half’s, is Mark Bittmans. Basically you cook the adobo, let it cool and store overnight, then grill the next day. Filipino vinegar and soy sauce are best as other vinegars are too sour and other soy sauces are too salty.
In the Philippines, it’s generally accepted that adobo is always better the next day (or the next couple of days, assuming there’s any left). Aside from being grilled, it’s common here to shred leftover adobo, then fry it until it’s a bit crispy, then serve it for breakfast together with garlic fried rice & eggs of choice (fried and scrambled being the most common, but I prefer poached).
. Some folks thought the amount was way too much but others say this is correct for a Philippine adobo and that issues with the amount likely resulted from using the wrong type of vinegar. A few said they reduced to a half cup with good results. Interesting discussion! Thanks for your recipe and the reference.