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This authentic Filipino Chicken Adobo is so easy to make and so full of flavor! The chicken is so soft, tender and juicy, it tastes amazing!
Chicken Adobo is a traditional Filipino recipe where the chicken is marinated and then cooked in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce and water. Vinegar tenderizes the chicken, making is very soft and tender! Even more flavor is added by the whole head of garlic cloves, fresh bay leaves and pepper that are simmered together with the chicken in the pot!
Chicken Adobo is so rich tasting, juicy and full of flavor, everyone devours it! Best of all, it is extremely easy to make! You can make it traditionally on the stove top or make your life even easier and use a slow cooker!
The best type of chicken for making Chicken Adobo is the chicken thighs or chicken legs. Chicken breasts don’t work as well for this recipe, if you have chicken breasts on hand try my crispy breaded chicken breast recipe – it’s amazing!
How To Make Filipino Chicken Adobo
First, mix up the Adobo marinade – 1/3 cup of white vinegar, 1/3 cup of soy sauce and 1/3 cup of water. This makes 1 cup of Adobo that is enough for 2 to 3 pounds of chicken.
Next, put the chicken in a bowl, pour Adobo marinade over it, sprinkle with pepper and add garlic cloves and bay leaves. Marinate the chicken Adobo in a refrigerator overnight, or for 20 minutes on the counter if you are short on time.
After it’s done marinating, brown the chicken on the frying pan for a few minutes per side. This step is optional, it just helps seal in the flavor and make the chicken look better when it’s browned :)
Next, cook the chicken in the Adobo sauce until cooked through and tender. You can do it in the pot on the stove for 40 minutes, or cook all day in a slow cooker!
Finally, reduce the Adobo sauce that the chicken was cooked in, and pour over the chicken for serving.
If you like this Filipino chicken adobo, you will also love these easy yummy recipes:
Easy Chicken Potstickers – who needs Chinese takeout when you can make these delicious potstickers at home?
Baked Chicken Pesto – this super-easy recipe is using just 3 ingredients: chicken, pesto and Parmesan cheese! It tastes amazing!
Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken – this sweet and spicy chicken is so finger-lickin’ good! The sticky sauce is mouthwatering!
This authentic Filipino chicken adobo is so easy to make and tastes mouthwatering! You can make it on the stove or in your slow cooker! This is the only chicken adobo recipe you'll ever need!
Put the chicken, vinegar, water, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper in a bowl and toss to combine. Marinate in refrigerator overnight (or for 20 minutes on the counter).
Brown the chicken (optional)
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Take the chicken out of the marinade and brown the chicken in batches for 2 minutes per side.
Cook the chicken adobo (stovetop version)
Put the chicken, garlic, bay leaves and adobo marinade in a deep frying pan or a pot. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to lowest simmer, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Cook the chicken adobo (crockpot version)
Put the chicken, garlic, bay leaves and adobo marinade in a slow cooker and cook for 3 hours on High or 6 hours on Low.
Reduce the sauce (optional)
After the chicken is done cooking, put the sauce on a frying pan, bring to boil and cook until reduced by half (about 5 minutes). Pour over chicken.
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2 Comments
Hi Melanie..:) I see that you left the fat attached to the thighs. My preference would be to trim most of it off. I do know that fat adds flavor, as in making homemade stock, but since the thighs are being marinated with the strong flavors of vinegar, soy sauce and garlic, I’m wondering if it makes a lot of difference in flavor for the end product ? Does the fat mostly disappear because of the length of cooking if you use a crockpot ? It wouldn’t if you only marinate for 20 minutes. I personally do not like chunks of fat on meat, even if it is marinated. Guessing ‘personal preference’ dictates whether to take the fat off or not…depending on the way it’s prepared…but, looking for your thoughts. Thank u in advance. :)
Hi Melanie..:) I see that you left the fat attached to the thighs. My preference would be to trim most of it off. I do know that fat adds flavor, as in making homemade stock, but since the thighs are being marinated with the strong flavors of vinegar, soy sauce and garlic, I’m wondering if it makes a lot of difference in flavor for the end product ? Does the fat mostly disappear because of the length of cooking if you use a crockpot ? It wouldn’t if you only marinate for 20 minutes. I personally do not like chunks of fat on meat, even if it is marinated. Guessing ‘personal preference’ dictates whether to take the fat off or not…depending on the way it’s prepared…but, looking for your thoughts. Thank u in advance. :)
The fat just disappears after cooking (even on the stovetop), so I don’t bother trimming it :)