Chicken Adobe

Last week, my husband found a recipe that he thought I had to try. He kept talking about it the whole weekend and described it so appetizing that I immediately bought the ingredients and started cooking.

This dish is called Adobe Chicken. It is the national Philippine dish and many people argue about how to cook it the "right way". Some serve it as a stew, some people add pork, some broil it at the end, etc. 

This recipe is from a restaurant called Purple Yam, it is very easy to make and absolutely tasty.

I planned the meal for six, but actually there were only four of us because one of our visitors got a terrible cold and wasn't able to come unfortunately. Everyone was so impressed with how great the flavors worked together that we ended up eating all of it! 

I would describe this dish as an "Asian Sauerbraten". There is a lot of rice vinegar involved, the vinegar is mixed with soy sauce and coconut milk. The chicken has to marinate over night and will then be cooked in the marinade. Finally the whole dish gets broiled to get a nice crust. In my case, the crust didn't really work out, but that is because I used skinless chicken breasts instead of chicken legs as indicated in the recipe.

Chicken Adobe

(Adapted from  Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan, Purple Yam Restaurant, Brooklyn)

serves 4

1 1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup soy sauce

12 garlic cloves, peeled

3 whole bird's-eye chilies or other fiery chili

3 bay leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

3 to 4 pounds chicken thighs

1. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large, nonreactive bowl or resealable plastic freezer bag. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.

2. Place chicken and marinade in a large lidded pot or Dutch oven over high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and tender around 30 minutes.

3 Heat boiler. Transfer chicken pieces to a large bowl, raise heat under the pot to medium-high, and reduce the sauce until it achieves almost the consistency of cream, about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and chilies.

4. Place chicken pieces on a roasting pan and place under broiler for 5 to 7 minutes, until they caramelize. Remove, turn chicken, baste with sauce and repeat 3 to 5 minutes more. Return chicken to sauce and cook for a few minutes more, then place on a platter and drizzle heavily with sauce. 

Note:

If you are using chicken breast, reduce the cooking time or it might get too dry.