Chicken Adobo: The Filipino Braise of Vinegar, Soy and Garlic That Improves Overnight

Adobo is often called the national dish of the Philippines, though the word covers a family of dishes rather than a single recipe. Every household has its version. What they share is the method: meat cooked in vinegar, salt and garlic, a preservation technique older than the soy sauce that now flavours most versions. The result is a braise that is sharp, salty and mellow at once, with a sauce that reduces to something close to a glaze. It uses one pan, a handful of store-cupboard ingredients, and it holds well for days, which is why it has fed so many lunchboxes.

Ingredients

Serves four with rice.

• 1 kg (2 1/4 lb) bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin on
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) soy sauce
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) cane vinegar, or plain white or rice vinegar
• 1 head of garlic, about 10 cloves, lightly crushed and peeled
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) water
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, optional
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

Method

1. Optional but worthwhile: put the chicken, soy sauce, half the garlic and the peppercorns in a bowl and marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to overnight in the fridge. Lift the chicken out and pat dry; keep the marinade.
2. Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken skin side down for 5 to 6 minutes until golden, then turn and brown the other side for 3 minutes. You are not cooking it through, only building colour. Take the chicken out and pour off all but a spoonful of fat.
3. Return the pot to medium heat and cook the remaining garlic for 30 seconds. Add the marinade, the vinegar, the water, the bay leaves, and the sugar if using. Bring to the boil and let it bubble for 2 minutes without stirring, which is the traditional way to cook off the sharpest edge of the vinegar.
4. Return the chicken, skin side up, turn the heat down to a steady simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.
5. Uncover and simmer another 10 to 15 minutes, turning the chicken once, until the sauce has reduced by about half and clings to the meat. The thickest piece should read at least 75C (165F).
6. For a crisper skin, put the pieces under a hot grill (broiler) for 3 to 5 minutes, then spoon the sauce over. Serve with steamed rice and plenty of sauce.

Notes

The vinegar matters. Filipino cane or coconut vinegar is mild and round; ordinary white vinegar works but is harsher, so add the sugar and a little extra water. Do not use balsamic or malt. Adobo is high in salt, so serve it with plain rice and a vegetable that has none. The NHS explains why that matters in its guidance on salt in your diet. Thighs and drumsticks stay juicy through long cooking; breast dries out. Leftovers improve overnight, as the sauce soaks in. Chill within two hours, keep in the fridge up to three days, and reheat gently until steaming hot throughout; the Food Standards Agency's page on cooking your food sets out the safe temperatures. It also freezes well for two months. A common variation adds coconut milk in the last ten minutes for a milder, richer sauce, and another swaps the chicken for pork belly, which wants a longer simmer of around 75 minutes. For another chicken dish on the same one-pot principle, see our Moroccan chicken tagine.