Chicken Adobo | Imamother

Amarante

Mon, Jul 20 2020, 4:38 pm

This was an easy and tasty version of a classic Philippine dish. I served over rice with a green salad on the side.

Don't crowd the chicken when browning or else you will steam and get soggy chicken with under-developed flavors.

CHICKEN ADOBO

Excerpt From: Alana Kysar. - Aloha Kitchen

3 bay leaves
4 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon neutral oil
1½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1½ pounds skin-on chicken wings or drumettes
½ cup cane vinegar, coconut vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
½ cup soy sauce (shoyu)
½ cup lager beer
1 tablespoon brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
3 cups steamed rice, for serving (optional)

In a medium Dutch oven or pot set over medium heat, toast the bay leaves and the black peppercorns until everything is very fragrant and the bay leaves have a sheen (they start out dull), 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove the spices from the heat. Crush three-quarters of the black peppercorns with a mortar and pestle or a grinder before setting them aside with the remaining peppercorns and bay leaves to use later.

Return the Dutch oven to the stove top and add the oil. Heat over medium heat until shiny and shimmering, add as much chicken as will fit, and brown it in batches, skin side down, until the fat has rendered and the skin is golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Wiggle the pieces around from time to time to prevent their skin from sticking. There’s no need to flip them midway as you are only browning the skin side of the thighs and one side of the wings. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and repeat the process until all the chicken has been browned. After you’ve browned it all, remove the pot from the heat and pour out the excess oil and rendered fat, reserving 1 tablespoon for the sauce.

Return the pot to the stove top with the reserved tablespoon of rendered fat and add the vinegar, soy sauce, beer, brown sugar, garlic, and the toasted bay leaves and black peppercorns. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine.

Add the chicken and any juices back to the pot and increase the heat to medium-high to bring the sauce to a low boil. Then turn the heat to medium-low, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer for 45 minutes, flipping the chicken once halfway through. Remove the lid and continue simmering for another 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the sauce and place it, skin side up, on a rimmed baking sheet

Turn the heat up to high and let the sauce cook at a rapid boil until it has been reduced by more than half, 5 to 6 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Broil the chicken pieces for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and return the chicken pieces back to the pot, flipping them once to coat both sides with sauce. Serve with the hot rice, if desired, spooning on some of the sauce.

Chana Miriam S

Mon, Jul 20 2020, 11:40 pm

I learned my adobo from a Philippine cook book. It went like this:

A meat with fat
An acid: vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce or ginger ale
An allium- garlic or onions or shallots or green onions

Marinate these things for an hour.

No particular amounts. What you think is good. Cook the meat in the pan with The vinegar and allium. The goal is basically to burn off the acids and get a reaction going between the fat, the acid and the allium. Once it’s well caramelized you can add more vinegar or other acid to deglaze the pan.

If you are doing this with a meat that must be cooked longer, you need to get the adobo reaction and then and only then work on cooking the meat to soften it by vm cooking it covered. Or it’ll never get that amazing caramelized finish.