Chicken adobo
Even the bone-in chicken haters will love it
Yakir Havin
•
June 3, 2026
As the national dish of the Philippines, everyone and their grandmother has a time-honoured traditional way of making chicken adobo. This is my version that I've made a handful of times, and the best feedback I got was that some of my bone-in chicken hating friends really enjoyed it. Braising chicken is much quicker than meat, so getting that fall-apart texture is much easier. Paired with the delicious soy and garlic sauce (the "adobo") and some steamed rice, this is an affordable dinner that can be made in a batch and used for a couple nights or a crowd.
Ingredients (11)
Ingredients (11)
Instructions
Season the chicken.
Combine soy sauce with water, a splash of rice vinegar, brown sugar, lots of smashed garlic cloves, a handful of black peppercorns, and a few bay leaves.
Add the chicken and mix to coat evenly, then for at least 30 minutes, but ideally overnight.
For a quicker version that compromises some flavour, you can skip marination entirely. The chicken will still absorb lots of flavour during the cook.
Remove the chicken from the marinade (keep the marinade) and pat it dry to aid in the browning and to avoid sputtering.
Brown the chicken skin side down in neutral oil in a pot.
Add the marinade liquid to the pot and deglaze the brown bits.
Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer, and cook covered for at least 30 minutes, and up to 60 minutes, so that the chicken becomes fall-off-the-bone tender.
Uncover and cook on high to reduce the liquid to a more saucy consistency, basting the sauce over the chicken to glaze it.
Allow the chicken to rest in the pot for 5 minutes, before serving alongside rice, spooning over the reduced adobo sauce, and garnishing with sliced scallions.
Avoid the bay leaves when serving. The garlic cloves and peppercorns should be soft enough to eat, but whether you want to is up to you.
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