Filipino Chicken Adobo
This tender Filipino Chicken Adobo is super simple to make yet rich in flavor. It takes as little as 30 minutes to make and is a healthy weeknight meal. You'll have this recipe in quick rotation soon!
See that tender chicken looking all saucy and delicious? That is Filipino chicken adobo, and trust me, you want to get in on this. It's fall-off-the-bone tender and all wrapped in an addictive tangy, garlicky sauce. And get this …
This Filipino chicken adobo recipe takes only 30 minutes to make!
Ok, truth is I've given you two different options for making this recipe. One involves marinating and then searing the chicken. It's not difficult at all, but it is a little more time-consuming. The second option is to simply throw all the ingredients in a pot and simmer it away for 25 minutes. How quick and easy is that?
I don't know about you, but after a long day, the last thing I feel like doing is spending an hour slaving away over a hot stove. I mean, I LOVE cooking, but sometimes all I want to do to is eat and curl up on the couch and watch a show. That second option is for days when that couch is just screamin' your name. Let's hear it for quick, easy and healthy dinners!?
Filipino chicken adobo is very different than Mexican adobo. The sauce is made largely from vinegar and soy sauce so the flavor is strong and has a vinegary tang to it. I'm sure it's not authentic, but I like to squeeze some lime over top to freshen up the flavors.
Want to turn this Filipino chicken adobo into a meal? This is how ya do it:
- Put a pot of rice on before you start cooking.
- When the chicken is simmering, put some baby bok choy on a pan, sprinkle it with oil and salt and broil it in your oven for 5 minutes.
- That's it!
Super tough right? Joking!
Seriously though, you guys are going to love this one.
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Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes:
- The Best Grilled Chicken Breast
- Sheet Pan Tzatziki Chicken
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts
- Honey Garlic Chicken
Filipino Chicken Adobo Recipe
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- Ā½ cup soy sauce, gluten-free if needed
- Ā½ cup rice vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoons cooking oil
- 4 cloves garlic, whole (see notes)
- Ā½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, can sub brown sugar
Instructions
- Place the soy sauce, rice vinegar and the 4 minced garlic cloves in a bowl. Add the chicken and mix it around a little so that the chicken is well coated with the marinade. Leave the bowl in your fridge for 30 minutes to 24 hours to marinate.Ā½ cup soy sauce, Ā½ cup rice vinegar, 4 cloves garlic, 8 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
- Pour the marinade from the bowl into a medium-sized pot. Heat a large frying pan over high heat and add the oil. Remove the chicken thighs from the bowl, dry them thoroughly with paper towels, and then fry them in the pan until they are nicely browned. You don't need to cook them through, just brown them.2 teaspoons cooking oil
- Once the chicken is brown, add it to the pot with the reserved marinade along with the whole garlic cloves, black pepper, and bay leaves. Add just enough water to the pot so that the chicken is half covered in liquid. Bring the pot to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low so the chicken gently simmers. Let the chicken cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes sprinkle the coconut sugar over the chicken and continue to cook it, uncovered, for 5 more minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.4 cloves garlic, Ā½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- Serve the chicken with some rice and lightly steamed greens on the side.
Iāve completed everything step by step and my sauce isnāt Thickening up
If it isn’t thickening for you I would suggest removing the chicken from the pot then cranking up the heat and boiling the sauce hard until it reduces. š
If the chicken is double stacked in the pot should the water go to the middle of top chicken or the bottom row of chicken?
I would cover the top row of chicken halfway. Since you will probably have more liquid in the pan than when I cook this, you may need to reduce the sauce a little longer than 5 minutes. Hope that helps!
This looks amazing! The vinegar/soy combination.. oh yum! Pinned!
Thank you so much for the pin, Susan!
You mention to leave the garlic cloves whole…yet in the list of ingredients it says minced ?????
Hi Shirley,
You’ll see the whole garlic cloves listed just below the minced garlic in the recipe ingredients. The minced garlic gets added to the marinade ingredients and the whole cloves get added to the pot. Hope that makes sense!
This looks right up my alley!
So happy to hear you like it!!
Mmmmm, this is calling my name! I know it’s “easy”, but I’ve never cooked chicken on the stove. It’s always baked, grilled, or slow cooker(ed). I’m so nervous I wouldn’t cook it properly on the stove in a pan! (Irrational fear!)
Don’t be scared of cooking chicken on the stove! The trick is to make sure you don’t boil it, or it will turn tough. Simmer is very gently and all will go well. š