I first became interested in chicken adobo when I saw a recipe for it using a slow cooker. It looked delicious but completely different than the adobo that I was familiar with. I thought adobo was that rich, spicy, reddish-brown mexican sauce that comes with chipotle peppers. The recipe I saw didn’t even involve any chile peppers. So then I just had to learn more…
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What is Chicken Adobo?
Chicken Adobo is a Filipino dish and is not at all like the Mexican or Spanish Adobo that I was familiar with. Filipino adobo is a tangy, salty mix of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and spices that are used to marinate and stew meat. It creates the most flavorful and complex meat you’ve ever had. It almost reminds me of jerky that’s not dried.
If you want to learn more about Filipino Chicken Adobo, check out these authentic recipes:
- Chicken Adobo from Rasa Malaysia
- Filipino Chicken Adobo from Panlasang Pinoy
- Chicken Adobo from The Woks of Life
What Kind of Chicken Should I Use?
I used bone-in drumsticks for this recipe but you could really use any type of chicken pieces you’d like (or beef or pork for that matter). You’ll want to use a bone-in chicken for the most flavor, and I suggest leaving the skin on to keep everything super moist and delicious. The skin crisps up nicely in the last step and keeps the meat nice and tender.
What to Serve with Chicken Adobo
I served my chicken adobo with some yellow jasmine rice, which isn’t at all authentic, but I found the flavors to be really great together! The brine that the chicken simmers in is super delicious, so I do suggest serving it over rice or noodles of some kind to soak up that awesome broth.
Chicken Adobo
Servings 6Ingredients
- 4 lbs. skin-on, bone-in chicken ($7.96)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce ($0.48)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar ($0.48)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.08)
- 2 Tbsp honey ($0.21)
- 2 whole bay leaves ($0.10)
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves) ($0.20)
- 1 Tbsp black peppercorns ($0.15)
Instructions
- Arrange the chicken pieces in a large pot in one layer. Remove the skin if desired.
- Combine the rest of the ingredients (soy sauce, vinegar, honey, oil, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns) in a bowl and whisk until the honey is dissolved. Partially crush the peppercorns if desired. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or over night.
- When you’re ready to make the chicken, add just enough water so that the liquid comes just up to the top of the chicken (about 1/2 cup). Cover the pot with a lid, place the pot over a high flame, and bring it up to a rolling boil. When it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium/low and let simmer for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your broiler on high. Remove the chicken from the pot and place it on a broiler pan (or a sheet pan with wire cooling racks placed on top). Place the chicken under the broiler until it is brown and crispy on top (5-10 minutes), depending on your broiler).
- While the chicken is broiling, turn pot with the soy/vinegar liquid up to high and bring up to a rapid boil. Allow the liquid to boil heavily until it is reduced in volume by approximately one half. You may need to boil it for 5-10 minutes longer than the chicken is in the oven to get it to this point.
- Use a soft brush to baste a few layers of the reduced soy/vinegar liquid onto the browned chicken. Serve over rice or noodles and spoon more of the reduced liquid over top.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Chicken Adobo – Step By Step Photos
In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp oil, 2 Tbsp honey, 2 bay leaves, 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about two large cloves), and 1 Tbsp peppercorns.
Place 4 lbs. chicken pieces in a large pot. They really should be in one layer to maximize exposure to the marinade, but my wide pot was in use when I made this. In hindsight, I should have used a wide casserole dish to marinate and then transferred back to the pot to cook. Anyway, do as I say not as I did. ONE LAYER. Then pour the marinade over the chicken, place the lid on the pot, pop it in the fridge. Let it marinate while you’re at work, over night or just for a few hours.
When you’re ready to cook, add a little bit of water so that the liquid comes a little closer to covering the chicken. You don’t want to add too much or else it will take too long for the sauce to reduce later. Cover the pot with a lid, place the pot over a high flame, and bring it up to a boil.
Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium/low and let it simmer for 30 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through by this point but it’s not too pretty so we’re going to broil it. Turn the broiler on to high.
Boiled chicken is just so blond and sickly looking so we’re going to add color under the broiler. If you don’t have a broiler pan, you can create a make shift one by placing some wire cooling racks over a baking sheet, like I did. After you pull the chicken out of the simmering liquid, turn it all the way up to high and let it boil furiously while you finish broiling the chicken. You want it to reduce in volume and concentrate in flavor as much as possible.
Place the chicken under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes or until it gets a nice brown color to it. The time it takes will depend on how hot your broiler is and how close you have your rack to the heat (it should be fairly close). So, you’ll just have to keep an eye on it. You should hear crackling and popping as the skin begins to crisp. Once the soy/vinegar liquid has reduced in volume by half, use a brush and baste a few layers onto the chicken. This will add moisture and tons of flavor.
I like to let it broil just a few minutes more to let the basting liquid caramelize and get all nice and delicious!
You can serve the chicken over rice or noodles. I suggest spooning more of the reduced liquid over top of the chicken and the rice or noodles. Pictured here with Yellow Jasmine Rice.
See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
This was a labor of love but SO good. Can’t wait to make it again!!!!
Chicken came out delicious, for some reason half a cup of water was not enough to add to the pot, the chicken was barely covered so I had to add 2 cups. I reduced for 10 minutes and then I ended up spooning the Liquid over the chicken instead of wasting it. Came out very good
Basting it***
I grew up eating adobo! It’s one of my favorite dishes, but my favorite is probably pork belly braised adobo. If I have leftovers I make fried rice out of it and eat it with an over easy fried egg. It’s super flavorful and always a hit with guests!
I’m usually a sucker for spice, but this chicken adobo recipe (with accompanying yellow jasmine rice) is a juicy, tangy, taste-bomb!! Made it for my visiting parents tonight and they proclaimed “you’ve finally learned how to cook!” A definite crowd-pleaser :)
Well that’s a huge win! Great work Catherine!
You should update the “total time” of this recipe to reflect that it needs an overnight marinade.
Thanks, fixing now! :)
Aaaaand another home run recipe from you! Made this last night and again, the spouse said it’s the best thing i’ve ever made (so far all the best things have been from your recipes)!
I marinated this before i left for work and threw everything in the crock pot (added 1/2 cup of chicken broth) and cooked under high pressure for 20 minutes. The chicken legs were falling off the bone! so good. After about 4 minutes i released the pressure manually and followed the steps for the broiler portion. I left the liquid in the IP under saute to bubble up and thicken then poured over rice and chicken when all was done.
Thank you again for these amazing recipes!
***EDIT, NOT CROCK POT BUT *******INSTANT POT************
OMG THAT MARINADE IS CRACK!! It goes good with EVERYTHING
I love that last line “I suggest spooning more of the reduced liquid over top of the chicken and the rice or noodles..” I can’t wait to try this marinate later this week :D
Thanks for all of you and your team’s support!
So good! My husband said the meal was awesome
If you can put this together before in the morning, then the time commitment after work will be minimal. big hit with the picky german boyfriend.
that sauce…my my my.
hahha Jenna! I know the drill! I married the picky German boyfriend. (37 years…still picky!) I will try this recipe for sure.
Used the Basmati rice I had on hand. Our new favorite rice. the leftovers were easy to incorporate into later meals – tacos, bratwurst/onion/rice stirfry.
oops. meant this comment for yellow jasmine rice…
Can you throw the chicken on the grill instead of under the broiler to brown it?
That should work in a similar manner, yes. :)
Could you use boneless breasts? My family hates bone in chicken. How would the cook times differ?
Hmm, not sure how that would work out for this recipe. I’d need to try it first. This is definitely one that is better suited for bone-in and dark meat, though.
I generally use either breasts or thighs and throw everything into the crockpot for 8ish hours. Shred it up after and serve it over top of the rice (either yellow as pictured or coconut) – sauce thickens up great on the chicken with the long cook time and everything mixes together deliciously. I have also done the same with pork loin for equally awesome results. I imagine you could throw it under the broiler after shredding if you want it more crispy, but I’ve never felt it needed it. =)
My Filipina mom always makes adobo in a pressure cooker. I would love be to try this in my Instant Pot, do you have any recommendations?
Love your recipes!!
I bet that would work beautifully! I don’t know the times offhand for bone-in chicken, but I would check the tables in the instruction booklet and try the suggested time for bone-in chicken pieces.
Oh my gosh! The oven version for chicken adobo. Squeal! I am so excited to find this. Thank you, thank you!
Hi,
Amazing recipe Beth!
Thank you so much…
Hi Beth,
I would really like to make this except my oven doesn’t have a broiler pan and I am not sure if my sheet pan is broiler safe (it is non stick and I got it from a discount like store similar to marshalls)… How can I get it crunchy in then oven?
Hmmm, you can try baking at the highest temp that your oven will go, but it will take longer and you run the risk of drying out the chicken. Even if it doesn’t get crispy, you definitely want that caramelization that happens from the high heat.
I just put some tinfoil over my sheet pan to keep it clean and protect it from spots of drip that could caramelize.
Being a Filipino, it felt good to see you included recipe for Chicken adobo in your website. It really is a favorite dish among us Filipinos. Very well presented. The honey is an added flavor for the sweet tooth.
You can also mix it with pork and now it’s called “Chicken-Pork adobo.
Thank you Beth for sharing your recipes. I’m dying to try some your of them. Happy cooking!
Thank you for sharing this delectable-looking recipe! I already have go-to recipes from my childhood, but I love trying new ways to make adobo. I think the honey in your recipe will be a hit with my non-Filipino in-laws, who need something to temper the vinegar.
Adobo is usually one of the first recipes a Filipino will learn to cook. It’s very easy to teach a kid to stick all the ingredients in a pot and wait. We don’t marinate the meat because we usually simmer this dish until the vinegar is “cooked” (i.e. no longer acrid). That can take a while, and the meat gets very flavourful and tender by then.
Did you know?
Filipino adobo, particularly the recipes with lots of vinegar in them, will keep unrefrigerated for a week or more. When the electricity goes out for weeks during typhoon season, many Filipinos cook adobo and other vinegary food so their meat doesn’t go bad while waiting for the power lines to be repaired.
Thank you for all that amazing info! :D
Wanted to make this today and noticed I’m out of apple cider vinegar. Anything I can use to substitute or not so much?
Well, because there is SO much cider vinegar in this if you use a different type of vinegar it will definitely change the flavor. I think my second choice of vinegars would be rice vinegar. Either way you definitely a vinegar of some sort and it wouldn’t work to replace it with a different ingredient all together. :/
This was the bomb over the “Yellow Jasmine Rice” on this website. I did some minor altering… I substituted one tbsp. of the vegetable oil for toasted sesame oil & added 1/2 tbsp. of sambal. Lick your plate amazing!
As Gen said, this is spot-on how my Mama taught me except for the honey. We always had chicken and pork – thighs and big chunks of country style ribs – together in our adobo, as none of us could ever choose which we wanted more. It’s true comfort food, and even though I’m now an empty-nester, I always make a Dutch oven FULL … not only are leftovers crazy amazing, it’s the one sure-fire way to get the boys to come running home for a visit …. hehehehe
I loved this recipe! After eating as is, i pulled the rest of the meat off the bone, chopped it up and mixed into the leftover rice & sauce to make it an easier to-go lunch for work… Kind of reminded me of a fried rice-type of dish. So good!
I’m a big time fan of your site, so I was pleasantly surprise that you have adobo on the your site! (I’m Filipino btw). This recipe is pretty legit except the honey part, but it might make it more palatable for people not used to the soy sauce/vinegar combo.
Just a note that pork is also another substitute for chicken!
I tried chicken adobo in a cafeteria the other day. Even though it was just fast food, it was so tasty and I went crazy looking for the dish everywhere. Had no idea it was so easy to make and your pictures make it look so much more appetizing. I can’t wait to try this! :)
And yeah, it seems totally different when it’s at a Philippino restaurant. I ordered it once and it was simmering in a big bowl of broth, and while it was still good, it wasn’t what I expected. This recipe is like…omgggg. Totally what I wanted.
I am a Filipino and this is a good version of adobo. I saw that somebody is asking for vegetarian adobo. Pretty much adobo recipe can be a base recipe for both meat and veggies. You can have green beans adobo or eggplant adobo. Adobo flavor becomes better after keeping it longer or eating it the next day.
OMG this is fucking fantastic!
Thank you!
OMG Maria! I love the review!! I LOVE when people are passionate about recipes, especially Beth’s since they’re all so good!!!
My husband decided it was his turn to cook last night and the main ingredient would be chicken drumsticks since that’s what we had on hand.
This adobo recipe was very good! Easy ingredients! Thanks!
Is there anyway you could make a vegetarian adobo? I would also love to see a recipe for vegetarian lumpia and panset. My husband said he loved the chicken =)
This looks amazing! I have never had Adobo chicken but if it tastes as good as it looks then I will definately be adding it to my dinner rotation (: I just have a question, not sure if it was asked already….I skimmed through the commemts but didn’t see it so I apologize if it has been asked. I was just curious if you could make it in the crockpot so as to skip the broiling stage and if you can would it still come out good? I am trying to find and add to my crockpot recipe list since I am working overnights and am now cooking after I get my daughter off to school so I can get some sleep during the day lol. Thank you for the help (:
This is the go-to recipe that my husband and I make when we want to impress guests.
Hey Beth,
I came across your website and couldn’t stop browsing through the recipes! I have had a lot of time lately to try new, different recipes for dinner. I think I have tried 4 of your recipes so far.
I have honestly made this adobo recipe over 5 times in the past..3 weeks? I don’t make the whole 4 pounds of chicken each time, and I just use chicken drumsticks. After making the first batch, I was hooked. Also, the ingredients are bought in portions large enough that all I have to do is buy chicken to make it and it’s so easy! I followed the whole recipe the first time, but now I exclude the broiling part and just let it simmer for longer. I added a bit more garlic and also more water to the pot so I could have more liquid, which even tastes amazing with just rice.
Thanks for the awesome recipes Beth! :)
Hi beth, your chicken adobo looks delicious, I should know I’m filipino. The recipe has so many different variations, but the trinity of soy sauce, garlic and vinegar(any type of vinegar) is a must if it is to be called filipino adobo. I can’t wait to try this out with my parents so they can see a new take on a favorite dish. Thanks again for all the recipes on this site it’s amazing.
I’m making this for my grandmother tonight (though we’re not Filipino, I still craved some Chicken Adobo). It’s marinating as we speak..and I also added more garlic…1 tsp definitely didn’t seem like enough…but I love garlic! I know it’s gonna be good. Thanks for this is easy recipe Beth!
I’ve been making Filipino Adobo since the early 60s….learned from a Filipino. I cook pork country style ribs along with chicken wings and thighs, but I use a heck of a lot more garlic. Also, I prefer not to fry mine….just cook down until everything is “sticky”. Yum!!!! Try some pancit with your adobo!
Anon – Unfortunately I’m not experienced with Bragg’s (I know what product you’re talking about, though), so I don’t know how different the flavor would be. If you try it out, please let us know how it works!
Hi Beth. Can I use Braggs in place of soy sause in this recipe? Thanks!
Ashley – A bone in type of chicken works best because of the long simmer time. You can use cutlets, but they might tend to fall apart during cooking. To serve 3 people, try cutting the recipe in half. Good luck with your party!
Hey,
I am a college student cooking for my first dinner party and all I have is chicken breast cutlets, are those ok? I will only be cooking for 3 females,how much should I use?
This is was sooooooooooooo DELICIOUS Beth, thank you sooooooooooo much!! I made this for dinner the other day and had the neighbor over and she LOVed it! And my boyfriend too. It’s crazy how something so easy could taste sooo darn good. I made this with the Yellow Jasmine Rice to go with it and it was perfect, excellent flavors! Thank you again for being awesome :)
Made this twice and my Filipino husband approves. :) I think generally they use white vinegar, and he could tell something was different when I used apple cider vinegar. It’s good either way. I may try rice wine vinegar next time. I love how insanely easy this is.
Absolutely! This would be delicious grilled! Great thinking :)
Hi Beth, I am making this right now and was wondering if I could grill the chicken instead of broiling it..? Grilled chicken always tastes soooooooo good :)
Lauren – The amount that your chicken shrinks will depend on the fat content… which will definitely vary from purchase to purchase. I haven’t yet figured out how to tell how much there is before purchasing :P
Wow, wow, wow. This was unlike anything I’ve ever had before! I was a little low on honey, so I subbed in a bit of brown sugar. Served it over basmati rice. I cannot wait to eat my leftovers for dinner tonight! I had a bit of trouble with the broiling process because I didn’t have a proper pan and was trying to use my toaster oven, so I can only imagine how much more amazing this would have been crispy!
One thing though – my drumsticks shrunk down a LOT during the cooking process. Is that normal? Figured I was getting a great deal at $.99/pound for chicken, but considering the bone and the amount it cooked down, in hindsight doesn’t seem that great of a deal.
I had a couple friends left over for dinner last night and made this and we all loved it! My friends insisted I make this one of my staple recipes, and I must say that I agree. The thing I love is that I have all of these items in my house at any given time, so it’s so easy to whip up. Buy chicken when it’s on sale and freeze it in individual (1 lb or so) portions, it’ll serve you well later!
its very delicious! :D
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I made this for dinner tonight and really enjoyed it.
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I also didn’t marinate for more than a few minutes. During the sauce reduction step, I cooked some lo mein noodles in the broth. My husband and baby loved this. Thanks Beth!
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I married a 1/2 Filipino and his mother & grandmother gave me their recipe…it has been a family staple for years. As one person already commented, there are many, many different variations for Adobo. Ours includes lots of paprika and adding carrots or potatoes to the ‘stew’. If you don’t want to broil, you do not need to….just thicken up the sauce and serve. Thanks for all your fabulous recipes! (Another great and budget friendly Filipino dish is Lumpia – it is also one of those dishes each family makes different)
Absolutely delicious!! Thank you for sharing! I’m so thankful to find another delicious way to eat cheap food. :)
I’ve had adobo before and really liked it. I just tried your recipe tonight and it was yum! Next time you try it, serve it with bananas (so each bite would have some chicken, rice, and banana). Sounds weird but it is super yummy.
I made this last week, and the entire family devoured it (even both toddlers)! Next time, I will crush the peppercorns a little more, though . . . biting into a whole peppercorns was a little too jarring for me. Thanks for the great recipe!
Your version looks good! I grew up eating filipino food and never had it cooked in the oven or with honey. Yummy!
I made this tonight and it turned out fabulous! I even slathered the reduction sauce all over my steamed broccoli on the side.
Really loving your blog, and this looks particularly delicious. I think I found the ‘craving’ I haven’t been able to name! Upside for me, chicken is starting to come up on sale at my local stores (59c per pound for bone in leg quarters)! <3 Keep up all the great work, and thanks for sharing all these wonderful recipes with us.
I substituted strawberry jam for the honey (for the little one) and used half white vinegar and half cider vinegar. I also didn’t marinate for more than a few minutes. During the sauce reduction step, I cooked some lo mein noodles in the broth. My husband and baby loved this. Thanks Beth!
Chicken Adobo is one of my favorite Filipino dish. As a matter of fact, I just posted a recipe on my food blog that I wish I can follow soon.
I followed the link to your recipe from TasteSpotting, and just wanted to say what a great idea your blog is. Few cooking magazines and blogs seek to bridge the gap between tasty cuisine and reasonable cost. Thanks for existing!
How timely! I wanted to make chicken adobo over the weekend and came to your website first to see if you had a recipe. You didn’t so I used a very similar recipe in my crock pot. Today, I see you made adobo, too!
I love your site and have been recommending it to everyone. All the recipes I’ve tried have been fantastic.
I subscribed to your blog a few days ago, and am happy you’re featuring a Filipino dish. I’m Filipino and I know Filipino cuisine is not as popular as other Asian cuisines so I’m glad that through this, it’s like slowly creeping in to the international culinary world. :D
I made this for dinner tonight and really enjoyed it.
It doesn’t come out sticky at all. You just boil the liquid on high heat after you take the chicken out and while the chicken is under the broiler (and maybe for 5-10 minutes after the chicken is finished broiling). The vinegar/soy sauce liquid will still be watery but will have a more concentrated flavor. You just brush a few layers onto the broiled chicken and it kind of coats it. Then I poured some onto the rice as well.
When you reduce the liquid, is it suppose to come out sticky? Ty!!
this looks amaaazing! my filipino colleague gave me a chicken adobo recipe a while ago but i never tried it out, but looking at your photos, i really am going to attempt the recipe!!
Ha! Thanks for catching that… 45 minutes… minutes.
I certainly hope this doesn’t actually take 45 hours to cook.
Great idea, Tintin!
I can give you the short version here because it’s really quite simple. The whole concept is to get your food really close to a heat source so that it cooks really quickly and browns. It’s just like grilling except the heat source is on top instead of underneath. So, it’s good for browning, crisping, or charring. It’s really great for making steaks too because you can get the outside cooked well while leaving the inside rare, just like on a grill! Broiler pans just hold the food up out of the drippings so that they don’t stew in moisture. You can create your own by placing a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet.
If you’re having a hard time visualizing it, I found this great video that sums it up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUncMwvMNNI
Hope that helps!
This sounds like fun. Would you mind doing a post (either here or on About) about broiling sometime? I don’t know how to, or even if I have everything necessary to try.
Yum!! Looks like one of my alltime favorite budget bytes dishes, asian sticky wings! I will be making this soon :)
This looks great. I love chicken thighs because they’re so cheap!
Your version looks delicious!
I’m Filipino and love adobo, there are soo many different ways and variations to make it, but your version looks interesting so I’ll give this one a shot as well. And if you guys are board, here is some shameless self promotion, I made a short film in college called American Adobo, its 20 minutes long on youtube http://youtu.be/aesyHeHK8FM
This is perfect. I love chicken and rice dishes. The thigh is my favorite.
I can’t wait until I get to try this.