Filipino Adobo Chicken – Chicken braised in vinegar and soy sauce with lots of garlic. This easy, savory chicken dish has become a staple in my home. As this simmers, your kitchen fills with an intoxicating sweet and sour aroma that will leave you anxious to eat.
Filipino Adobo Chicken
Filipino Adobo ChickenNot only is it so easy to make, but because it’s incredibly flavorful and my kids love it! More of my favorite, easy to make chicken dishes are Braised Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms and Leeks, Chicken Thighs with Shallots in Red Wine Vinegar (Poulet Au Vinaigre), and One Pan Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Broccoli.
I first shared this recipe back in 2010, but I thought the photos needed some updating as you can see the image below.
My friend Liren of Kitchen Confidante was so gracious to share her family recipe with me, which I slightly modified to reduce the fat. We serve this over basmati rice which makes it a complete meal. It’s recommended marinating this overnight but if you’re pressed for time, it’s still delicious if you don’t. I prefer dark meat when making chicken stew; legs and thighs both work well.
Filipino Adobo Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 skinless chicken drumsticks on the bone
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce use gluten-free soy sauce for GF and coconut aminos for Paleo
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 small head of garlic crushed
- 6 ground peppercorns
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 jalapeño chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Marinate chicken in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, jalapeño and pepper, for at least an hour (overnight is ideal).
- Put chicken, 1/2 cup water, bay leaves and marinade into a deep nonstick skillet and cook on medium-low heat. Cover and cook until the meat is tender, about 45 minutes.
- Remove the cover and cook an additional 15 minutes, until the sauce reduces.
- Discard bay leaves and serve over rice if you wish.
Last Step:
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I am Filipino and reference this recipe all the time. It’s a keeper
How many ounces of chicken would you suggest? I would like to substitute skinless chicken breast instead of skinless chicken drumsticks.
We make tons of your recipes and have followed you for years and have several of your cookbooks.
Thanks! Maybe 24 oz?
I’m Filipino and don’t recommend chicken breasts. You need the fat from the drumsticks or thighs to make this dish right. The fat is what gives it the traditional taste. And we have never used jalapenos.
I’ve been making this for years. It’s one of my husbands favorite. He Always says afterwards the chicken was really good. Good thing he doesn’t know it’s made with vinegar because the man hates anything with vinegar in it, or so he thought 😉
I make it with coconut curry cau,flower rice & pour some of the sauce on top. So easy and so delicious. Thanks!
I am so lost. Where is the oven temperature? Did I miss something?
Stovetop. 🙂
I made this tonight and Oh My Goodness it was soooo good! Thanks for the recipe.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love this recipe. I make it with apple cider vinegar and it’s not sour at all that way.
Hi Gina,
This is one of my favorite recipes! I have been making it for a couple of years. I am a college student and it works wonderfully as a food prep meal with brown jasmine rice and broccoli. I usually make it with chicken tenders or breasts, as I prefer white meat. I was recently gifted with an air fryer and would love to make this recipe (using chicken breasts) in it. Do you have any recommendations on how I would do this? Thank you in advance!
This recipe has sauce and is braised in it, so not the best for the air fryer.
I have always used rice vinegar, not apple cider vinegar. Do you think it makes it sweet?
I make this almost weekly. I always use boneless chicken thighs, coconut aminos in place of soy, and add mushrooms. It’s the easiest weeknight dinner and I serve with brown rice and steamed broccoli. It’s a hit every time. Thank you for this great recipe!
Never tried skinless chicken adobo before. Looks so yummy!
Why is it under Japanese cuisine… the flavors are great. I taste too.much salt for my liking so I’ll use low sodium soy, also since its usually eaten with rice (like peanut butter and jelly) maybe add a basic rice technique. Not just any rice, but how a Filipino technique to make white rice… I’ll leVe it at that