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I've been posting a lot of sweet treats lately, and realized it was about time for some good eats! Work can often be fairly stressful, so I rarely feel like cooking when I get home from work. I do most of my cooking on the weekends, or on my days off (I get a weekday off every other week). I do, on occasion, cook on a weeknight when I'm working; but I'm much more inclined to do so if it's a quick and simple, but tasty, meal.
I got this recipe for Adobo from my friend Daphne. It is a Filipino dish that is usually cooked with either chicken or pork. I have to admit that I have never had chicken adobo anywhere else, so I have no idea how this compares to other recipes. All I know is that I love the simplicity of this, and the flavor is wonderful (though it's not the most photogenic dish). The recipe calls for cooking a whole chicken, but I don't eat dark meat (I know, my family says I'm crazy!) so I just use boneless skinless chicken breasts. I'm sure that the flavor would be even more amazing if you cooked this using a whole, skin on, chicken.
This is another great weeknight meal. You can prepare/marinate the chicken the day before, and then when you get home from work, all you have to do is pop it on the stove and simmer it. You need to cook it on the stove top for quite some time (approximately 1 hour), but it's something that doesn't require a lot of babysitting - you can get it started and then walk away from it. Sometimes you need that time to relax and unwind after a long day... I imagine that you could adapt this to become a slow cooker recipe, but I haven't gotten around to trying that yet.
Chicken Adobo
from Daphne's mom
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp black peppercorn (whole)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 bay leaves
1 whole chicken, cut up
Mix all the ingredients together and marinate at least one hour; overnight is best.
Add the chicken and marinade to a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for half an hour. Uncover and simmer an additional 20-30 minutes.
Serve with rice.
This looks great! I think you have given me a dinner idea for next week! I'll probably use chicken breasts as well instead of a whole chicken.
ReplyDeleteI never feel like cooking after work either. I have a feeling this will be made in the near future. Looks great!
ReplyDeletethis looks really good! i think i'll try it out next week... chicken is on sale this week so i bought a TON! =)
ReplyDeletehow many breasts do you normally use for that much marinade? i was thinking of cutting the marinade in half and using 2 breasts, but it seems like there may not be enough marinade for it to simmer that long?
That looks tasty! I have not had chicken adobo before. Bookmarked to try. It is always good to have quick, simple and tasty recipes on hand for weeknights.
ReplyDeleteashley - the marinade doesn't really thicken much as it simmers (though a little does boil out). i used 6 breasts in this recipe, but a wide/shallow saute pan - so the tops of my chicken dried out just a tad; i think if you put it in an appropriately sized pot where the marinade covers all the chicken it should be ok. it sounds like 2 breasts with half the marinade would be ok too.
ReplyDeleteThat is one good lookin chicken!
ReplyDeleteYou're a working woman and you crank out the good food too! It is hard to cook on those days that you work, isn't it? It I attempt that, I always stress myself out.
ReplyDeleteYour chicken adobo looks great!
Looks really good and I love that you can make it the night before and just stick it in the oven when you get home!
ReplyDeleteI've never had adobo chicken and this sounds and looks delicious. I'm bookmarking this one.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jaime! This dish has won my heart - I love nicely browned chicken like this and you served it with rice, a true Brazilian passion!
ReplyDeleteWonderful looking dish. One of my good friends is Filipino and I have her recipe (similar to this) written on a scrap of paper tucked in my recipe box. I love it because it doesn't require a lot of attention.
ReplyDeleteGreat that you like adobo. It is comfort food for me.
ReplyDeleteGay
Philippines
Being filipino myself, I have never used chicken breast in making chicken adobo, just because I find this to be the driest and blandest part of the chicken. I usually make this with chicken thighs, without the skin, since I think the bones add some flavor to the sauce. Here's a tip too, I add just a pinch of sugar to balance out the tangyness and add some ground pepper. Being I learned my recipe from my grandma, we never were taught to marinate it overnight.
ReplyDeleteanonymous - thanks for the tips! the first time i made this i didn't know to use the whole peppercorns so i actually added ground peppercorns and it tasted great :) i like the idea of adding just a tad of sugar to help balance it out. and i know that this must taste much better with dark meat, but i just can't stand dark meat and can only eat chicken breasts (literally, i gag on dark meat!). i think everything that is marinated tastes better if marinated overnight, just my personal preference :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't realize that my mom's recipe actually made it onto a blog! Cool. She'll be excited. Or maybe upset that I didn't think to blog it first ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree with anonymous - I have not ever made this dish with just boneless chicken breasts. Even marinating won't give them the tenderness and juiciness that bone-in chicken (especially the dark meat, lol) with the skins on has. I usually remove the skins from half of the chicken pieces to cut down on the fat, although it's easy to skim the fat either right away or after refrigerating it overnight.
I have never added sugar to the marinade, though, which is interesting, and further proof that home-style recipes like this one are subject to a lot of variations. I've even modified it to make it healthier than the way my mom used to make it.
Oh - and in my house, I can't eat chicken adobo with just rice. I have to have a side of fresh tomatoes and sliced scallions, with a little salt (or back in the day, Maggi, lol!).
Mmmm I'm craving some now!
I tried this recipe and it came out really salty and really flavorful at the same time. I think it was my soy sauce.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the simpleness of the recipe and I will try it with a whole chicken.
I love your blog and I have tried recipes and they are always a favorite.
the arbuckles - thank you! it is a little salty but i always use the low sodium soy sauce so i'm not sure if that affects the flavor. i know it is much better with whole chicken vs breasts... i just can't eat dark meat!
ReplyDeleteHey there Jaime! I was wondering how many chicken breasts you use for this recipe ... I don't eat dark meat, either, so I thought I'd try it with the breasts. It looks sooo good.
ReplyDeleteI made your cookie dough truffles today for a work function and they were a HUGE hit. ;-)
hi jenn! glad the cookie dough truffles were a hit - i loved them! :) if you look above a few comments, i already answered that question (6) but i supposed i should update my post so it's more evident... using white meat really doesn't do this recipe justice, but i just can't eat dark meat!
ReplyDeletei learned to make chicken adobo from a phillipino friend over 20 yrs. ago. she adds diced,cooked potatos, really small, to the mixture along with a can of french cut green beans.they compliment the dish and makes it more filling!
ReplyDeletethanks, anonymous! i'll have to try that next time... though probably with fresh or frozen green beans (i don't care much for the canned ones)
ReplyDeleteI found this blog entry while doing a search for a boneless chicken breast adobo recipe. I am Filipina, and this recipe is almost identical to mine, except that I use drumsticks, and I don't marinate the meat. I made this for dinner tonight using boneless chicken breast, and it was AWESOME. I marinated it for about two hours. I'm going to make chicken adobo like this from now on. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete