What is Filipino Chicken Adobo?
It is an authentic chicken dish, the national dish of the Philippines. The dish is made by cooking the stewed chicken in a mixture of vinegar and soy sauce. Its ingredients are simple, but the flavor is rich, a little sweet, spicy, and slightly sour. Everyone can make it comfortably in their kitchen using everyday ingredients.
People love to make this dish in adobo style at special events. This authentic recipe must be made with chicken thighs because they impart a richer flavor than chicken breasts.

Origin of Chicken Adobo
The origin of adobo is the Philippines, and the dish is specially prepared using the adobo cooking style. It means cooking food in vinegar and using mostly soy sauce. The main purpose of using vinegar is that, in olden days, there were no refrigerators or freezers, so vinegar helped to extend the life of meat or food. Also, Try Chicken Curry.

Filipino Chicken Adobo Recipe: Easy, Authentic & Flavorful
Filipino Chicken Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines, made by cooking chicken in soy sauce. This easy recipe is perfect for a quick meal.
Prep Time
20-30 mins
Cook Time
30-40 mins
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Filipino
Servings
5 People
Calories
427 Kcal
Equipment
- Pan or pot.
- Medium-sized bowl to marinate chicken.
- Spoon
Ingredients
- 750 g/1.65 lbs boneless chicken
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2-3 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 5 fresh or 3 dried bay leaves
- 2 tbsp Natural oil vegetable, canola
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium-size brown onion, diced
- 2 cups of water
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 3 green onions sliced for garnish.
Cooking Instructions
- Take a bowl and mix chicken with soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, and bay leaves. Marinate it for 20-30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan over high heat. Now remove the chicken from the marinade and sear the sides of the chicken, but don’t fully cook it. Set aside the chicken after it is lightly browned.
- Take the same pan, heat more oil over medium heat, then add chopped onion and garlic paste, and cook until they soften.
- Add reserved marinade, water, sugar, and black pepper; cook on low heat for 5 minutes.
- Now add chicken and cook it uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Turn the chicken once during cooking. Over time, the sauce coats the chicken perfectly.
Notes
Use chicken thighs.
They contain fats that help to make the sauce thick. Always use thighs, not breasts, but you may also try the dish with wings and drumsticks.
Avoid dark soy sauce.
Avoid dark sauce because it is too strong for the dish, so use light soy sauce.
Vinegar:
Another common mistake is using a lot of vinegar, which makes the adobo sour and doesn’t give you the taste of traditional chicken adobo.

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NUTRITION INFO
Servings Per Recipe: 250 g
| Calories | 427 kcal |
| Calcium | 90 mg |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2.5 g |
| Cholesterol | 140 mg |
| Sodium | 1200 mg |
| Carbohydrate | 10 g |
| Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Potassium | 480 mg |
Calories per ingredient
Total Recipe
| Boneless chicken thighs (750g | 1650 |
| Soy sauce (85ml) | 70 |
| White vinegar (2 tbsp) | 6 |
| Bay leaves (5 leaves) | 1 |
| Vegetable oil (2 tbsp) | 240 |
| Garlic (7 cloves) | 9 |
| Brown onion (1 medium) | 44 |
| Water (2 cup) | 0 |
| Brown sugar (2 tbsp) | 96 |
| Black pepper (1 tbsp) | 17 |
| TOTAL | 2133 |
How to Serve it Traditionally
The dish is served with hot white rice. You can also serve it with vegetables or cauliflower rice. To add aroma, slice some green onions and put them on top before serving.

Best Vinegar for Chicken Adobo
White vinegar is the best vinegar for a clean and sharp taste, which keeps close to the taste of the traditional adobo. But if you want to cook it with a different flavor, then use cane vinegar, apple vinegar, or rice vinegar.

