For another traditional Filipino dish check out my Pancit Canton recipe. This might come as a surprise to you, given my background, that I carry a very strong emotional attachment to all things Filipino, and this Chicken Adobo in particular. I spent a year of my life in the Philippines in my early twenties, and although it was one of the most difficult years in my then young life I’ve come to love and appreciate the country and her people. I also brought home a handful of recipes with me. This Chicken Adobo recipe is one of them. It’s interesting how strange and foreign things soon enough become familiar and even soothing. This Chicken Adobo stew is one of those things. Incredibly simple yet rich in flavour, it became my comfort food in a country so different from my own. One of the best things about this recipe is how easy it is to make use the simplest of pantry staples. No unfamiliar or rare ingredients here. Chicken Adobo is very easy to love even if you are not a fan of Filipino food. It’s reminiscent of our stews that nourish, satisfy and warm up from the inside.
Filipino cuisine
Filipino cuisine is wonderfully varied and complex, which is no surprise in a country made of more than 7000 islands and a rich mosaic of cultures. It also carries influence gathered over centuries from cultures as diverse as Spain, China and more. The one constant is rice, which is served for every meal and often snacks in between. Many dishes therefore come with a lot of sauce to pour over and flavour the rice. That sauce needs to carry a lot of flavour if it’s going to be mixed with heaps of rice, and Filipino cuisine has plenty of ways to add it. Strong flavours that tick boxes like acidic, salty and pungent can be found in common ingredients like soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic and rice vinegar. Chicken adobo is a classic example of how this is done, to the extent that it is considered the national dish of the Philippines. It has a salty, vinegary taste that mellows when the strongly flavoured sauce is poured over plain rice. As with every national dish, each cook has their own recipe, which is the beauty of it! My version was modelled after a few recipes of several Filipino women I watched cook during my year in Isabela.
What is Filipino Chicken Adobo?
One of the best things about this recipe is how easy it is to make use the simplest of pantry staples. No unfamiliar or rare ingredients here. Essentially, this chicken dish is flavoured with garlic, ginger, soy sauce and vinegar. Carrots and potatoes are often added to balance out the strong adobo sauce. However, that particular addition could be regional to where I lived. I personally highly recommend adding them! Pork adobo is one of the most common variations in the Philippines and it’s just as delicious but quite a bit fattier! If you decide to use pork instead of chicken, I suggest using a slow cooker for best results. The version in this recipe is very traditional to the region of the Philippines where I lived. But it is made in countless ways and there were different approaches in other parts of the country, or even family to family.
Serving suggestions
Filipinos will always serve Chicken Adobo with plain, unsalted white rice and tiny citrus calamansi, also known as Filipino lime. Sadly I’ve never seen calamansi outside of the Philippines. It’s a real shame because their taste is unparalleled to any citrus here! I used limes as a substitute in this recipe, just squeeze a little bit of lime juice into individual portions.
Storage and leftovers
Leftovers can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days or kept in the freezer for up to three months. It can taste better after a day in the fridge as adobo sauce flavours meld and the vinegar mellows. Leftovers can be reheated in a microwave or in a saucepan on a stovetop over medium-low heat. You may need to loosen up the sauce, in which case a splash of water can be added. Cover with a lid so the chicken adobe doesn’t dry out. It will be ready in approximately 15 minutes.
More Asian inspired chicken recipes
Shoyu Chicken Recipe Sticky Asian Chicken Honey Soy Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks Chicken Satay with Easy Peanut Sauce
