Chicken Adobo Recipe: My personal adaptation

One of the things I loved most about living in Asia for nearly 10 years was the food. Oh, and the spices. The smells, the textures, the sweet, salty, sour, and spicy all at once. Your tongue just delighting in it all.

Of course, the best part of trying new dishes is attempting to recreate them at home. There are some I never did get right, but the experiments are always worth every failed attempt. One that I was able to consistently create and make my own is this Philippine chicken adobo recipe. 

What is Philippine Adobo? 

Philippine adobo is a classic and popular Filipino dish. The sauce or marinade includes vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and black peppercorns. It’s typically made with pork or chicken, but really you could do it with vegetables as well.

My recipe is an adaptation of the traditional Philippine adobo dish. And yes, I do have issues following recipes – I have to make them my “own”. 

I follow the basic four ingredients for the chicken adobo sauce above, but instead of rice vinegar I use Apple Cider vinegar. In addition to black peppercorns, I add Cinnamon Sticks. Finally, I add one can of Coconut milk to the sauce, which brings a creaminess and sweetness that I just adore.  For the meat, I use boneless chicken breasts, but you can also use thighs or other parts of the bird (cooking time might vary based on how thick the pieces are).

I hope you enjoy this version of chicken adobo as much as I do. It’s perfect with stir fry broccoli with garlic and a little soy sauce (one of my favorite vegie dishes that all the boys love), and jasmine or coconut rice.

Ingredients:

• 4 to 5 boneless breasts of chicken
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cinnamon sticks broken into one inch pieces
• ~2 TBSP whole peppercorns
• 1 cup gluten free soy sauce (you can use regular soy sauce. I recommend low sodium). 
• 2 TBSP crushed/chopped garlic (~ 4-5 cloves)
• 3 to 4 bay leaves
• 5 to 6 whole cloves
• 1 can lite Coconut Milk

Directions: 

1. Use a 13×9 glass baking pan.
2. Mix all ingredients except chicken in the baking pan and stir.
3. Add chicken pieces to the plan, putting a few fork pokes in the meat on each side and turning the chicken over to get the marinade into the meat on both sides. 
4. Cover the baking pan and refrigerate for 3 or 4 hours (or overnight is even better!).
5. After marinating, remove pan from the refrigerator. 
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (I find cooking chicken on lower temperature for a longer time makes the meat more tender).
7. Bake the chicken IN the marinade and the same pan for 30 to 35 minutes (check at 25 minutes to make sure and not overcook).
8. Remove and let settle for a couple of minutes.
9. Serve on top of Jasmine Rice or Coconut Rice and with garlic broccoli as a side. 
10. Use the sauce (marinade) to pour over the chicken adobo and rice (so yummy!!).

Stir fried Garlic Broccoli is the perfect side dish with Chicken Adobo