Filipino Chicken Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines and may well become your new favourite Asian chicken dish! Just a few everyday ingredients I can practically guarantee you already have, it’s an effortless recipe that yields juicy, tender chicken coated in a sweet savoury glaze with little pops of heat from peppercorns.
This is a chicken thigh recipe and it MUST be made with thighs – no substituting with chicken breast!
Filipino Chicken Adobo
Filipino Chicken Adobo is one of the first chicken thigh recipes I shared way back in 2015 when I started this website. Back then, I boldly stated that this was my new favourite Asian chicken recipe even it was thoroughly disloyal of me to say that, being of Japanese background and all (Teriyaki, Karaage and Yakitori….to name a few….).
To be honest, I may have embellished a wee bit. Blinded by the excitement of discovering Chicken Adobo, how unbelievably easy it is for a dish that yields such incredible flavour,
Check out how sticky the sauce is! It truly tastes as incredible as it looks. And it’s SO EASY with just a HANDFUL of ingredients!
What you need
Filipino Chicken Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines and like all traditional dishes, there are many variations – including using different proteins like pork and beef.
Fundamentally though, the key is the right balance of soy sauce, vinegar, black peppercorns and sugar that creates an incredibly sticky glaze with a depth of flavour like it’s been slow cooked – but it’s not!
boneless skinless chicken thighs – cannot substitute with breast, need the fat to transform sauce into a glaze;
soy sauce – all purpose or light soy sauce. NOT dark soy sauce (bottle will be labelled as such if it’s dark soy sauce);
white vinegar – just everyday, plain white vinegar. Sub with any clear vinegar, including rice wine, apple cider, sherry vinegar. Vinegars can vary in their acidity, so if using substitutes start with less (see recipe notes);
onion and garlic;
peppercorns – or coarse cracked pepper;
sugar – brown best, white ok;
bay leaves – fresh or dried, not the end of the world if you don’t have; and
green onion – optional garnish
How to make Filipino Chicken Adobo
And here’s how to make it. Basically, you marinate the chicken briefly, sear the chicken, then simmer it in the pan with the marinade for 25 minutes. It will look watery right up until the last few minutes, then all of a sudden, the liquid transforms magically into a syrupy glaze!
What Chicken Adobo tastes like
The glaze of Filipino Chicken Adobo is savoury and sweet with a hint of tang, with a distinct soy flavour. The garlic and onion creates a savoury base along with the bay leaves, and the peppercorns add little subtle pops of heat.
Don’t be afraid of the peppercorns in this! The spiciness is tempered from both the cooking time and the strength of the flavour of the sauce so it becomes a flavour enhancer rather than fiery spiciness.
And finally, the chicken itself. It’s incredibly tender, owing to the cook time. Chicken thighs only take about 6 to 8 minutes to cook on the stove, so simmering them in sauce for 25 minutes yields thighs that are so tender inside, it’s like you’ve slow cooked them for hours.
What to serve with Chicken Adobo
Rice to soak up the sauce is essential! Though if you’re counting calories, I can highly recommend Cauliflower Rice – pictured in the first photo in the post alongside Smashed Cucumbers for a seriously delicious dinner plate clocking in at a grand total of just 415 calories.
You may not use all the sauce this Filipino Chicken Adobo recipe makes. It is quite strong, so have a taste before dousing your entire plate with it.
As you can see in the photos, I do not hold back. 😂 – Nagi x
PS If you do have leftover sauce, don’t throw it out! That stuff is GOLD. I use it to make Filipino Chicken Adobo fried rice – just fry up cooked rice with chopped up pieces of this chicken, some chopped Asian greens and the sauce. The sauce is so flavoursome that you don’t need anything else!
Watch how to make it
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Filipino Chicken Adobo (Flavour Kapow!)
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 750g / 1.5 lb chicken thigh fillets , boneless and skinless (5 – 6 pieces) (Note 1)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/3 cup (85ml) soy sauce , ordinary all purpose or light (not dark soy sauce, Note 2)
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp white vinegar , see Note 3
- 4 bay leaves (fresh) or 3 dried
For cooking
- 2 tbsp oil , separated (vegetable, canola or peanut)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 small brown onion , diced
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) water
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp whole black pepper (sub 2 tsp coarse cracked pepper)
Serving:
- 2 green onions/scallions , sliced (garnish)
Instructions
- Combine Chicken and Marinade ingredients in a bowl. Marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to overnight.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet over high heat. Remove chicken from marinade (reserve marinade) and place in the pan. Sear both sides until browned – about 1 minute on each side. Do not cook the chicken all the way through.
- Remove chicken skillet and set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in skillet. Add garlic and onion, cook 1 1/2 minutes.
- Add the reserved marinade, water, sugar and black pepper. Bring it to a simmer then turn heat down to medium high. Simmer 5 minutes.
- Add chicken smooth side down. Simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes (no need to stir), turning chicken at around 15 minutes, until the sauce reduces down to a thick jam-like syrup.
- If the sauce isn't thick enough, remove chicken onto a plate and let the sauce simmer by itself – it will thicken much quicker – then return chicken to the skillet to coat in the glaze.
- Coat chicken in glaze then serve over rice. Pictured in post as a healthy dinner plate (415 calories) with cauliflower rice and Ginger Smashed Cucumbers.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published February 2015. Updated January 2019 with brand new photos, step photos, video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!!
Life of Dozer
Dozer started 2019 the same way as he finished it – in the POOL!!
I added a little cajun touch to your tradition dish 1.4 of red bell pepper to give more vesta color and a little different flavor.
Sounds great Ray – would have added some sweetness too! N x
Yet another favorite of both toddlers and both adults in our house. Your recipes keep us fed Nagi, and you’ve turned me from a reluctant cook to someone who loves cooking and serving up something I know is gonna be great! The only one disappointed is the dog as the kids spilled so much less than usual.
I loved this recipe. Found it by searching recipes for ingredients i had on hand. I’d never eaten this dish or made it before and I loved it! I had skin-on thighs and left it on, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Next time I’m making it with double the sauce ingredients, as it’s the bomb and I’d like to use it on other goodies. Five stars!
This was my first time making Adobo Chicken and my whole family loved it, including the kids which is a big win. Just 2 questions – 1) when you simmer the chicken, do you keep the flame on med-high or turn it down to low? some recipes say to cover it with a lid 2) there’s so much liquid that’s left in the end, how do you get it so thick like gravy?
After adding the chicken, the recipe says to simmer. Should I heat the reduced or stay between the medium/ high mark?
Hi Tana, no you may need to reduce the heat slightly so it’s not too hot so it doesn’t burn. N x
Hi Nagi,
I really enjoyed this recipe, definately “flavour kapow”. On personal preference I wouldn’t add the peppercorns next time simply because they remain hard and were too spicy for my kids. I will opt for some fresh coursely ground black pepper next time. I did use 2 lbs of chicken thighs so slightly more than called for and did the quick sear step in two batches. Once seared they all fit snugly into my jumbo cooker. The sauce cooked down beautifully into that saucy glaze. I will definately make this again!
Love that you have so many options that are reasonable for a weeknight dinner.
Cheers,
Holly x
This recipe is simple and good! I even changed some things and it came out tasty. Pay attention to all of the instructions and extra notes because they are helpful. Try this! It’s flavorful..i lived in the Philippines and this taste reminded me of what I had there!
Hi Nagi, You’re my go-to recipe site. Love it all! Can I do this Adobo recipe in a slow cooker?
Thank you!
Sorry not this one as written Beth! N x
Me: bookmarking your site as the food is cooking for the smell alone and crossing my fingers I will find a pancit recipe next. Thank you! Food is the best way to show love, so thank you for sharing. Your sister in Christ. 🧡
Made this tonight for dinner, easy and very tasty. Definitely a keeper. Single and quick.
I doubled this recipe because we always make a large amount of food. I did not quite double the vinegar or the pepper. My goodness, was this amazing! My husband even said this was restaurant worthy *tear* I am so proud! Our best friend is Filipino. I can’t wait to make it for him! Thank you!!
Cooked it for lunch and my girls love it 👌
Delicious! By far the best cooking blog on the internet! So thankful for all the recipes I’ve learned how to make <3
Absolutely amazing! This was my first time making it and it came out perfectly. Thank you so much Nagi, your blog is my go to for a lot of my cooking xx
This is my first time ever making chicken adobo and it tastes like how I remember it when I was growing up. Delicious and not overly salty and fairly easy to make
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Cindy!! N x
Just awesome! Made this last night and everyone gave it 5 stars. My 10 year old daughter asked if she can cook it next time. Thanks for yet another amazing recipe Nagi!
I made this tonight except i went with long grain white rice and brussel sprouts. It was absolutely incredible. We have sauce leftovers for a stir fry tomorrow. Awesome flavour. Thank you
Like your cooking. I want to learn more please, thanks!
Soooooo goooood!!!!!!
Was a bit sceptical at first but being time poor with some chicken thighs languishing in the fridge, I had to try this. It was delicious! The only complaint from the peanut gallery was the pepper corns were not great to chew, I’ll use cracked pepper next time. The bowl was licked clean! I’ll have to make more sauce next time too 🙂
Thanks
Sarah
Let me tell you, i’m 100% born & raised from the Philippines.
It’s been a struggle trying to look for an Adobo recipe that’s perfect for me & my fam. It’s always either too fatty, too saucy, too salty, etc.
But this one, OMG! Superb! So easy to make.
This has been a house staple for months now.