• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
My Gorgeous Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Chicken Recipes

    Filipino Chicken Adobo

    Published: May 13, 2022 · Modified: May 13, 2022 by Daniela Apostol · This post may contain affiliate links · 29 Comments

    1981 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    Jump to RecipePrint RecipeJump to Video

    Filipino Chicken Adobo, a delicious recipe made with chicken thighs cooked in a delicious adobo marinade. It is a super easy dish to make from scratch with just a few ingredients. Serve it with rice, salad or any other side of your choice, and enjoy the best homemade dinner tonight.

    A chicken thigh in an adobo sauce
    Jump to:
    • What is adobo?
    • Ingredients needed for the chicken adobo
    • How to cook chicken adobo
    • Is the adobo sauce too strong?

    What is adobo?

    Adobo is a popular dish and cooking process in the Philippine cuisine that involves meat, vegetables or seafood cooked in a sauce made from vinegar, soy sauce and garlic. The recipe is considered by many people the sample food of Philippines.

    And rightly so, as it is so tasty and easy to make. The key is to leave it to marinate, ideally overnight, or as long as you have time. And be generous with the amount of garlic you use, the more, the tastier. Which is fine by me, as I love garlic, way too much!!!

    Once cooked, the sauce is sticky and rich, bursting with amazing flavours, which give the thighs a fabulous Asian touch.

    A pan with 5 chicken thighs in an adobo sauce

    Ingredients needed for the chicken adobo

    The recipe uses a few simple ingredients that can be found easily in any supermarket: chicken thighs, chicken stock/broth, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, oil, peppercorns and bay leaves.

    Overhead shoot of ingredients needed to make Filipino chicken adobo

    How to cook chicken adobo

    I chose to cook chicken, as it is a light and easy meat that many people love, including little ones - you can check other chicken recipes I have, there is a whole category on my blog. Most recipes call for a whole chicken, but l decided to go for chicken thighs only, skin-off, bone-in.

    Now, there are lots of different cooking methods for adobo, and I think there is no right or wrong, you just choose the way that you like best. And I chose the easy way where everything is cooked in one pot. Don't you like less mess?

    • in a bowl, combine the vinegar, soy sauce and minced garlic, add the chicken thighs and leave to marinade, ideally overnight.
    • heat up the oil in a pan, add the chicken thighs, and fry gently until brown. The chicken won't be cooked through at this stage.
    • add the chicken stock, marinade, peppercorns, bay leaves, cover the pan with a lid, and leave to cook until the chicken is tender and the liquid is reduced into a thick sauce.

    Collage of 4 photos to show how to make chicken adobo

    Is the adobo sauce too strong?

    I must admit that I was a bit reluctant at first, was unsure whether I would like the adobo sauce. And that is because it uses quite a bit of vinegar.

    I thought the flavour would be too strong and the sauce too sharp. But, surprisingly, it is the very best sauce I have ever tasted. You really cannot tell that is has that amount of vinegar.

    Yes, it is slightly sharp, but it has the right amount of vinegar. The base of the adobo sauce are vinegar, soy sauce and garlic. Nothing simpler. Not tastier.

    Some recipes call for brown sugar to add to the stickiness of the sauce, but I found that there is no need for sugar, the sauce is nicely balanced without. What a lovely dish!

    2 chicken thighs in a pot

    If you’ve liked my FILIPINO CHICKEN ADOBO RECIPE or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

    3.58 from 21 votes
    A pan with 5 chicken thighs in adobo sauce
    Print
    Filipino Chicken Adobo
    Prep Time
    5 mins
    Cook Time
    30 mins
    Marinating
    1 hr
    Total Time
    1 hr 45 mins
     

    Filipino Chicken Adobo, a delicious recipe made with chicken thighs cooked in a delicious adobo marinade. It is a super easy dish to make from scratch with just a few ingredients. Serve it with rice, salad or any other side of your choice, and enjoy the best homemade dinner tonight.

    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Filipino
    Keyword: chicken dinner recipes
    Servings: 5 servings
    Calories: 357 kcal
    Author: Daniela Apostol
    Ingredients
    • 5 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
    • ½ cup soy sauce
    • ½ cup cider vinegar
    • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
    • 10 peppercorns
    • 3 bay leaves
    • 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1 cup chicken stock (broth)
    • freseh parsley to garnish
    Metric - US Customary
    Instructions
    1. To make the marinade, add the soy sauce and cider vinegar to a bowl together with the minced garlic and mix well.

    2. Place the chicken thighs in a large dish and pour over the marinade.

    3. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, so that the chicken can soak up the flavours.

    4. Remove the chicken from the dish and retain the marinade.

    5. In a large frying pan, heat up the oil and add the chicken thights.

    6. Fry slightly on each side until lightly brown.

    7. Add the marinade, peppercorns, bay leaves and chicken stock, and leave to cook with the lid on until the chicken thighs are cooked through and the sauce is reduced and slighty thickened.

    8. Serve the chicken with rice or the side dish of your choice, pouring over the remaining sauce.

    Recipe Video

    Recipe Notes

    Some recipes call for brown sugar to be added to the sauce to help with the sticky texture, but I find that there is no need for sugar, the sauce is nicely balanced without. 

    Nutrition Facts
    Filipino Chicken Adobo
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 357 Calories from Fat 243
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 27g42%
    Saturated Fat 11g55%
    Cholesterol 112mg37%
    Sodium 1453mg61%
    Potassium 358mg10%
    Carbohydrates 4g1%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 22g44%
    Vitamin A 90IU2%
    Vitamin C 0.7mg1%
    Calcium 18mg2%
    Iron 1.5mg8%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Save

    Save

    Save

    Related Posts

    • Overhead shot of a chicken schnitel on a white plate with 2 lemon wedges and chopped green onions
      German Chicken Schnitzel Recipe
    • Overhead shot of a chicken schnitel on a white plate with 2 lemon wedges and chopped green onions
      German Chicken Schnitzel Recipe
    • Overehead shoot of a white plate with chicken biryiani, a table cloth next to it and a dish with more biryiani
      Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe
    « Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Mushroom
    Steak Pie with Puff Pastry »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife

      June 03, 2017 at 3:20 am

      Being Filipino, I grew up enjoying many variations of adobo from different family members. It's always delicious! Yum - now I am craving it!

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 03, 2017 at 11:12 am

        Thank you! I really love it!

        Reply
    2. Gloria Duggan

      June 03, 2017 at 1:20 pm

      Chicken thighs are underrated. They are so juicy and full of flavour. This dish sounds very tasty. Love the sauce...and the heat!!

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 03, 2017 at 10:21 pm

        Thank you, Gloria!

        Reply
    3. Veena Azmanov

      June 03, 2017 at 2:13 pm

      I love Abodo chicken rice. I've eaten it a few time while in Singapore. That sauce looks so delicious. I didn't know it was so easy. Can't wait to try this.

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 03, 2017 at 10:21 pm

        Thank you, Veena! I'm sure you'll love it!

        Reply
    4. Stephanie

      June 03, 2017 at 9:35 pm

      I love cider vinegar so I'm pretty sure I would like that adobo sauce. Sounds really good and like it would be great with lots of things.

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 03, 2017 at 10:23 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    5. Molly Kumar

      June 03, 2017 at 10:56 pm

      This looks so delicious and we totally love saucy recipes for special weekend meals. It's going in my weekend recipes to try and I'm sure my family would totally love it 🙂

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 04, 2017 at 2:37 am

        Thank you, Molly!

        Reply
    6. Noel Lizotte

      June 04, 2017 at 12:50 pm

      This chicken looks amazing! I've got some thighs thawing in the fridge. I just might mix up this marinade to use on them. I love how simple the marinade is!

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 04, 2017 at 8:50 pm

        Thank you! I am sure you will love it!

        Reply
    7. Swathi

      June 04, 2017 at 10:22 pm

      That chicken looks delicious, I haven' t tried adobo sauce, may be I can give it try. They sound have both tangy and salty balance from soy sauce and vinegar.

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 05, 2017 at 1:18 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
    8. ManilaSpoon

      June 05, 2017 at 12:48 am

      I am Filipina and certainly proud that this is our national dish!! Chicken adobo is amazing indeed - so tasty yet so easy! I have so many versions of it, too. Have to try this with parsley as you suggested. Looks so yummy!

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 05, 2017 at 1:18 am

        Thank you, glad to see that you approve of it!

        Reply
    9. Christine - Jar Of Lemons

      June 05, 2017 at 2:07 am

      This recipe looks so delicious! Perfect for dinner! Saving and hope to try it out soon.

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 05, 2017 at 11:40 am

        THank you!

        Reply
    10. Marisa Franca - All Our Way

      June 05, 2017 at 11:47 am

      This is the second time I have to write this because it is saying I'm spam -- I"m not. I did say that your chicken adobo sounds and looks great. We make our own adobo sauce so we are ready to make it this week.

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        June 05, 2017 at 11:54 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
    11. jay avila

      October 31, 2018 at 6:10 pm

      Going to try this now. Sounds delish. Will let you know.
      Thanks for the recipe

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        November 03, 2018 at 8:07 pm

        Thank you! I hope you'll enjoy the dish!

        Reply
    12. foodlovers

      January 20, 2019 at 3:59 pm

      Easy Filipino Chicken Adobo Recipe have their own set of flavor …me this Easy Filipino Chicken Adobo Recipe looking nice recipe I will try this thanks for sharing

      Reply
    13. B. neel

      July 09, 2019 at 8:04 pm

      I would hesitate to us a Marinade that raw chicken has sat in for an hour. Too many times I have read from professional chefs to throw away. I don’t even boil. Why not divide the Marinade? Use only part for Marinade and the rest to cook chicken?

      Reply
    14. Julie

      August 17, 2019 at 3:16 pm

      Curious has anyone tried this in a slow cooker?

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        August 17, 2019 at 6:09 pm

        I was thinking about it today actually. I have quite a few chicken thighs and the chicken adobo is one of my favourite dishes. I want to try it in the slow cooker too, l’ll follow the exact same steps to marinade and brown the chicken, the transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours, l think that should do. I’ll let you know how it turns out, l might need to add cornflour to thicken it.

        Reply
    15. Erin Nolan

      December 17, 2020 at 1:48 am

      I just tried your recipe today and my family loved it! I let the chicken marinade for 3 hours. and it was very flavorful! My chicken thighs were a bit fatty and they ended up boiling in the fat. So after the fat melted off, I used another pan to brown the chicken, and placed it back in the original frying pan. Also, I added a little cornstarch/water mixture to make the sauce thicker. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I most definitely will be having it again!

      Reply
      • Daniela Apostol

        December 17, 2020 at 11:27 am

        I am glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    16. Robin Gramola

      February 19, 2021 at 4:49 pm

      So many comments, but not many of them prepared the dish first. I'll get back to ya, thanks for the recipe.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Daniela,the blogger behind My Gorgeous Recipes, welcome to my kitchen! I absolutely love cooking and baking. I love good food that is healthy (and not so healthy), delicious and nutritious.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • World's Best Vegetarian Omelette
    • Easy Butter Chicken Recipe (Indian Style)
    • Mary Berry's Moist Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe
    • Easy Tiramisu Recipe (no eggs, no alcohol)
    • Nando's Peri-Peri Butterfly Chicken Breast Recipe
    • Healthy Banana Muffins for Kids (No Sugar)
    • One-Pot Leftover Roast Chicken Pasta
    • Mary Berry's Madeira Cake

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 My Gorgeous Recipes