Filipino Chicken Adobo is a flavorful and comforting dish made by simmering tender chicken in a savory blend of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices. It’s perfectly served with easy steamed white rice, soaking up every delicious drop of the sauce.
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🍗 The Ingredients
With just a handful of simple ingredients, adobo chicken comes together to create one of the most flavorful and beloved dishes in the world. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and variations) below.
👉 Substitutions and Variations
- Protein – Dark chicken pieces, typically thighs, are traditional. We like bone-in, skin-on because we think it delivers great flavor. However, we’ve used boneless, skinless thighs and they are delicious, too. Breasts tend to dry out during the braising process, but they are still tasty. Pork loin (cut into bite-sized pieces) is also commonly used in the Philippines.
- Soy sauce – For the most authentic flavor, go with Silver Swan Soy Sauce. It’s most commonly used in the Philippines. However, regular soy sauce or low-sodium soy sauce still delivers amazing flavor. Dark soy sauce is not recommended.
- Vinegar – Cane vinegar is traditional. However, white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar are both perfectly acceptable substitutions.
- Sugar – We recommend dark brown sugar, but regular granulated sugar or even honey can be substituted.
- Flavor enhancers – Bay leaves, peppercorns, and garlic are all key ingredients in the dish and shouldn’t be omitted.
See the recipe card (with video) below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Expert Tip
The longer you allow the chicken to marinate, the deeper the flavor will be. We recommend 12 to 24 hours. However, if you are crunched for time, you can marinate for just 1 hour and still get delicious results.
👨🍳 How To Make Filipino Chicken Adobo
- Step 1: Place the chicken in a large baggie and add the garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, vinegar, and soy. Seal and chill for 1 hour, or preferably overnight.
- Step 2: Remove the chicken from the marinade and sear in a hot skillet with oil, 2 minutes per side.
- Step 3: Remove the chicken, and bring the reserved marinade, brown sugar, and water to a boil.
- Step 4: Add the chicken, lower the heat, and simmer until the chicken reaches 165°F, about 30 minutes.
- Step 5: Once the sauce has thickened, braise the chicken all over.
- Step 6: Serve at once with steamed rice. Pour additional sauce over the top of the chicken.
🍽️ How To Serve, Store, and Reheat
- This dish is best served piping hot, right out of the skillet.
- You can place all of the chicken on a large platter and let guests serve themselves, or plate the dish individually.
- Perfect steamed rice is a must. A vegetable side dish, such as easy roasted broccoli, braised baby bok choy, or even maple-glazed carrots, is a wonderful complement to the chicken.
- Be sure to serve the additional sauce at the table. It’s what really brings it all together.
- Leftovers are even better the next day. Place in a baking dish covered with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 325°F, or until heated through. Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken thighs and drumsticks are preferred for their tenderness and flavor, but you can also use a whole chicken or a mix of cuts based on your preference.
Yes! In fact, adobo tastes even better the next day as the flavors have more time to meld, making it a great make-ahead dish.
Yes, vinegar is a key ingredient that gives adobo its signature tangy flavor and helps tenderize the chicken, but you can adjust the amount to suit your taste.
No, Filipino chicken adobo and Mexican adobo are different dishes; Filipino adobo is a vinegar and soy sauce-based stew, while Mexican adobo typically refers to a chili-based marinade or sauce.
🌎 Other International Chicken Dishes
Ready to make the best chicken dish on the block? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Filipino Chicken Adobo
Video
Equipment
- 1 Large skillet preferably non-stick
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken thighs and legs, bone-in, skin-on
- 4 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 5 bay leaves fresh
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup cane vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoon scallions chopped, for garnish (optional)
- steamed rice
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a large freezer baggie (or bowl). Add the garlic, bay leaves, soy sauce, vinegar, and peppercorns. Seal the baggie (or cover the bowl with plastic wrap), and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or even better, overnight.3 lbs chicken thighs, 4 cloves garlic, 5 bay leaves, ¾ cup soy sauce, ½ cup cane vinegar, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it on a platter. Hold onto the marinade.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, if necessary, sear the chicken for 2 minutes on each side. Set aside on a platter (the chicken will not be cooked through at this point). Continue with the remaining chicken.2 tablespoon olive oil
- Safely discard the oil and rendered grease in the skillet. Add the reserved marinade (including peppercorns and bay leaves), brown sugar, and water to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and nestle the chicken (with collected juices) into the skillet, skin-side down. After 15 minutes, turn the chicken pieces over and cook for another 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F to 175°F.1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, 1 cup water
- Remove the chicken and place it on a clean platter. Turn the heat on high and simmer the sauce until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. It should coat the back of a spoon.
- Return the chicken to the sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Serve at once with steamed rice and garnish with chopped scallions, if using.2 tablespoon scallions, steamed rice
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