Filipino Chicken Thigh Adobo, a delicious recipe made with chicken thighs cooked in a delicious adobo sauce. 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.
What is adobo?
Adobo is a popular dish and cooking process in the Filipino 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.
Once cooked, the sauce is sticky and rich, bursting with amazing flavours, which give the thighs a fabulous Asian touch.
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Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview - the adobo sauce
- vinegar - I used cider vinegar, as it was the only one I had around, but you can use any kind of vinegar
- soy sauce - I chose regular soy sauce, but you can also use a combo of light soy sauce and dark soy sauce
- dark brown sugar - balances out the acidity of the vinegar and makes the sauce richer
- water - to lighten up the sauce
Ingredients overview - the chicken
- chicken thighs - I used both boneless and bone-in thighs and they both worked just as well. I am not keen on the skin-on thighs, so I removed the skin
- onion and garlic - add tons of flavour to the adobo sauce
- bay leaves - adds a delicate aroma
- salt & pepper - to taste
- peppercorns - I used whole peppercorns in addition to the ground peppercorn for extra heat
- oil - for frying
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- in a bowl, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, dark brown sugar and water and mix well, then set it aside
- heat up the oil in a pan, add the chicken thighs, season them with salt and pepper and fry gently until brown. The chicken won't be cooked through at this stage.
- remove the chicken from the pan, and add the peeled and chopped garlic and onion
- fry them until golden
- add the chicken sauce, peppercorns and 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.
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.
Expert tips
You can leave the chicken thighs in the adobo sauce to marinate if you don't need to cook it straight away. That gives extra flavour and makes the chicken incredibly tender and moist.
The chicken can be marinated for as little as half an hour to overnight if you wish, but make sure the marinade goes in the fridge. You can then fry the onion and garlic, then add the chicken thighs and marinade and cook.
Other chicken thigh recipes
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Filipino Chicken Thigh Adobo
Ingredients
- 5 skinless chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless)
- ½ cup soy sauce (125 ml)
- â…“ cup cider vinegar (85 ml)
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- â…“ cup water (85 ml)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 10 peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
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Instructions
- To make the adobo sauce, add the soy sauce, cider vinegar, dark brown sugar and water to a bowl and mix well.
- In a large pan, heat up the oil over a medium heat, add the chicken thighs, season them with half of the salt and ground black pepper, and brown on both sides.
- Remove them from the pan and set side.
- To the same pan add the peeled and chopped onion and garlic, season with the remaining salt and pepper, and fry until golden.
- Return the chicken to the pan, add the sauce, peppercorns and bay leaves, place a lid on the pan, and leave it to cook until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is reduced and thickened.
- Serve the chicken with rice or the side dish of your choice, pouring over the remaining sauce.
Video
Notes
- You can leave the chicken thighs in the adobo sauce to marinate if you don't need to cook it straight away. That gives extra flavour and makes the chicken incredibly tender and moist.
- The chicken can be marinated for as little as half an hour to overnight if you wish, but make sure the marinade does in the fridge.
- You can then fry the onion and garlic, then add the chicken thighs and marinade and cook.
Nutrition
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Katherine says
Too vinegary for me.
Leslie Kenyon Booth says
Can I leave out the oil, or perhaps use Olive oil? I’m on a stent diet and not supposed to have any oil, with exception of Extra Virgin Olive oil. Thanks.
Daniela Apostol says
I haven't used olive oil, but worth a try.