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!!
Hi Nagi,
just wondering if I could sub soy sauce with fish sauce for this recipe? I know it won’t be authentic but does it also affect flavour negatively?
Love your recipes!
Hi Ishini, I think it would be slightly too fishy here unfortunately – N x
Yummooo!!! I’m so lucky to have found this website! We love chinese food and it’s so hard to find decent recipes( trust me I’ve tried many). This chicken is so good but I will try with cracked pepper next time as it is much easier to eat the sauce 🙂 Thank you for all your hard work, your way of explaining makes it so easy to cook chinese 🙂
This is a Filipino dish not Chinese
Hi Nagi, made this tonight and the flavour was delicious. Everyone including kids impressed- I just told them to watch out for the peppercorns. My husband thinks next time we should try cracking the peppercorns for more of a hit. Would that just turn it into a different dish? Also I found the glaze stayed a bit foamy and didn’t get glossy like yours. Should I have cooked the sauce for a bit longer or less?
Hi Noreen, you can sub cracked pepper – see the recipe for the amount. Sounds like you should have just cooked it down a little longer to get that thick glossy sauce. N x
Brilliant recipe and so flavourful. Thanks Nagi, First time trying whole peppercorns. I was a bit skeptical, but you’re right – they soften and add a beaut pop! Winner.
Hey Nagi.
Hope you and your family is ok.
I have used your recipe a couple of times and experimented a little bit with it as well, A half cup of fat cocomilk and a dash of curry powder in the end of the cocking time became an instant success one Saturday night in February.
Love your recipes Nagi. Unfortunately I don’t eat onion, will it matter if I leave it out of this recipe or is there a substitute? Thanks x
Hi Kate – is that all onion that you don’t eat? or how about onion powder? It wont matter too much if you leave it out all together 🙂
I made the Filipino Chicken Adobe according to your recipe with the following tweeks: Instead of sugar I used 1 tsp of Hoisin Sauce (Dynasty Brand) and also 1 tbsp annatto powder. Came out wonderful…..no left overs
Thank you Nagi, your website rules!
Sounds great Claudia, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! N x
I have just cooked this Delicious chicken adobo. I doubled the recipe and it’s really yummy .
And it’s so easy to make!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Pat, thanks so much for letting me know!!
My sauce didn’t thicken at all. I removed the chicken. And still nothing.
Could this be frozen?
Hi Tia, yes you can cook and freeze – N x
Wow.How good is this. I’m always looking for new ways to cook chicken. This is delicious, different and so easy. Thank you Nagi.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it David!
Thank you Nagi, for featuring the Filipino Adobo. I’ve been following your recipes… more success to you ❤
It’s one of the first recipes I ever shared back when I started the blog, I love it that much!! It was due for a big overhaul with new pics 🙂 N x
Looking forward to the new pics… albeit they’ll be just as luscious. I will try your version of Adobo…. I’m Filipina but and been trying other variations and this one looks really sticky tasty ❤
So amazing, probably my favorite recipe I’ve tried from you so far!
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Amy! N x
Hi Nagi –
Been meaning to make this ever since you published the recipe – finally got around to it tonight.
Made it exactly as per your instructions (with coarsely ground black pepper option) – superb! Perfect easy weeknight meal – everyone loved it! Will be making it on a fairly regular basis now I think 🙂
I’m so glad it was a hit Ron!!
Made this for my little brothers who love to eat different cousines and the results were fantastic.Thank you so much Nagi!Greetings from Turkey!
Loved it soooo tasty
Thanks so much Teresa!
Nagi, stumbled on your website via goodfood australia. Bravo for you for saying just use white vinegar ( I personally think apple cider vinegar is distracting) that’s the vinegar my mom used (it was to go to vinegar in 1960’s America not much choice!). You might try a can of coconut milk in addition it adds a nuanced flavor (this was my adobo growing up). Also the sugar is not needed the carmelisation of the chicken and onions adds a sweetness foil and the vinegar mellows out. Aloha!
I am making this dish for 8 people. I don’t have a pan that will hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer. After browning the chicken can I layer the pieces if I rotate them occasionally to be sure they are all covered in sauce?
Hi Marcia, you might be better doing it in two pans to ensure they all cook evenly – N x
Delicious recipe. I doubled the garlic and added more onions. My sauce was much lighter than Nagi’s, but the taste was brilliant
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sophie!!
Thank you for sharing. Cooked Adobo pork chop last night, everyone loves it. It’s easy to cook & found all the ingredients already in pantry apart from bay leave.
That’s great to hear Kathy, I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Nagi,
I’ve been to the Phillipines 6 times, last being 2014 so when I saw this recipe I was itching to give it a crack.
I made this tonight even though hubby doesn’t like chicken thighs but he was extremely impressed and said this was great and we could definitely serve this at a dinner party. 👌👌👌
The flavours took me back to the beautiful beaches and shacks of the Phillipines.
I had to take the chicken out of the saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce but this was wonderful with rice and your smashed cucumber dish (hubby also said this made him want to eat cucumbers lol) 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Once again you inspire me to get in the kitchen and smash out something new!!!
That’s fantastic Roey!!! Love that you’ve totally converted hubby as well 😂