Go Back
Filipino Chicken Adobo the Old Clay-Pot Way (Adobong Manok)

Filipino Chicken Adobo

Filipino Chicken Adobo is the archipelago's most iconic braise, built on a shrewd balance of cane vinegar, soy sauce, crushed garlic, whole peppercorns, and bay leaves. Bone-in dark meat simmers until the sauce reduces into a glossy, savory-sour glaze that clings to every piece. It tastes even better the next day, once the flavors settle and deepen.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 4 People
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Filipino
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks about 8 pieces total
  • 0.5 cup Filipino cane vinegar sukang maasim; coconut or palm vinegar also works
  • 0.33 cup soy sauce toyo; use a Filipino brand like Silver Swan if available
  • 1 whole head garlic cloves peeled and crushed, about 12 cloves
  • 1 tsp whole black peppercorns do not substitute ground pepper
  • 4 dried bay leaves laurel
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil canola or vegetable
  • 0.5 tsp salt to taste, if needed at the end

Equipment

  • 1 heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven a clay palayok is traditional if you have one
  • 1 Tongs
  • 1 Mixing bowl for the marinade
  • 1 Wooden spoon

Method
 

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken pieces with the soy sauce, crushed garlic, black peppercorns, and bay leaves. Toss to coat and let marinate at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, or refrigerated for up to 4 hours.
  2. Heat the cooking oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Lift the chicken pieces from the marinade, letting excess drip off, and reserve the marinade. Sear the chicken skin-side down in batches until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Set aside.
  3. Return all the chicken to the pot along with the reserved marinade (garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves included). Pour in the water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
  4. Pour in the cane vinegar. Do not stir. Let the pot come back to a boil untouched and bubble for 5 minutes so the raw acidity cooks off.
  5. Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, turning the chicken pieces once halfway through, until the meat is tender and pulls easily from the bone.
  6. Uncover the pot and raise the heat to medium. Simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, spooning sauce over the chicken now and then, until the liquid reduces by half and turns glossy and clings to the meat.
  7. For an extra layer of depth, push the chicken pieces to one side and let the skin brown briefly in the rendered fat at the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes.
  8. Taste the sauce. Add salt only if needed. Discard the bay leaves. Serve hot over steamed white rice, spooning the garlicky sauce generously over each portion.

Notes

  • Do not stir the pot for the first several minutes after adding the vinegar. Letting it boil untouched cooks off the raw acidity and mellows the sauce.
  • Use bone-in, skin-on thighs and drumsticks. The rendered fat is what turns the sauce glossy.
  • Adobo improves overnight. Cool, refrigerate, and reheat the next day for a deeper flavor.
  • Serve with plain steamed white rice or garlic fried rice (sinangag), and a small side of atchara (pickled green papaya) if you have it.
  • Some cooks slip in a few peeled hard-boiled eggs during the last simmer to soak up the sauce.
  • Traditional Filipino cane vinegar (sukang maasim) is ideal. Coconut or palm vinegar also works. Avoid distilled white vinegar, which is too sharp.