Filipino Chicken Adobo

[Wimpy]

Filipino Chicken Adobo

Here's my version of Chicken Adobo, a Filipino staple dish and not to be confused with any sort of Mexican adobo.

• 12 chicken thighs with skin intact (one US size giant pack is good)
  
• 4 whole garlic heads, separated into cloves & peeled
  
• 1 c vinegar (malt, apple, white is OK, although orig. is made from sugar cane)
  
• 10 black peppercorns
  
• 5 bay leaf (dried)
  
• 1/2 c soy sauce (kikkoman or other japanese type is more refined)
  
• salt
  

Preparation:

1) wash thighs, pat dry with paper towel

2) peel all the garlic cloves (yes, it's a lot), and bang them abit with flat of knife blade to release the oils/juices (but don't mush), leave a few whole (not bashed)

3) salt the chickens rather generously on each side

4) in large (Rubbermaid) plastic container, line up the thighs and throw in all the garlic, you can layer the thighs, 2 or 3 levels deep

5) pour in vinegar, about 1 -1.5 cups

6) pour soy sauce, about 1/2 cup

7) pour in cold tap water until thighs are submerged

8) throw in bay leaves and peppercorns

9) snap on the lid for container, carefully give it a nice shake so the marinade mixes well

10) bung into refrigerator overnight or up to three days (like i do)

To Cook:

1) Dump entire content into large stainless steel pot (avoid aluminum coz of the vinegar)

2) Bring contents to a boil, then reduce to a gentle boil, a bit above a simmer. I'd say up 30-40 minutes. There is not much finesse required, thighs should be cooked through, but skin should not be too shriveled up or separated from the meat. Quite a lot of fat is rendered from the skin, skim from surface and set aside.

3) Take pot off flames, and separate out the chicken thighs and the garlic. Reduce the sauce down a bit more (maybe to about half the depth, but not too much else becomes too salty).

4) Meanwhile, using a non stick frying pan, fry the thighs skin side down with some of the rendered chicken fat (or use corn oil). Until skin gets crisp. Turn over and fry briefly on other side. Do this for all of thighs and set aside.

5) Take the garlic cloves (which were cooked along with the thighs) and fry them until crunchy on outside. They are kinda mushy at this stage but it should fry (watch out for oil splatter). Set aside.

6) In bowl, place chicken thighs, pour reduced sauce and put fried garlic on top.

Serving Suggestions:

1) Filipinos will eat this with plain steamed rice (not long grain, but the Asian stickier type) accompanied by some green vegetable dish.

2) Pour sauce (which should NOT be thick like demi glace or anything) over the rice.

3) Adobo tastes great even as a leftover (i.e. flavor matures in fridge). It also keeps for quite a long time, as it is confit-like (with fat sealing the chicken in container and the sauce gelatinizing)

There are gazillion variations to this, some mix it with pork. Many do not take the extra step to separate out and fry, but this is what my dish is known for and lends it an added texture which the traditional one does not have.

Caveat:

I always wing measurements (eg. the vinegar and water and salt)- one reason I suck at baking. So the measurements above are estimates. The vinegar taste is definitely there but should not overwhelm. It should be mellowed out by the dilution with water and interaction with salt and soy and a kind of sweetness (umami?) lent by the cooked garlic. Why both salt and soy? I find the saltiness of salt and that of soy are different in character. Also, the soy lends an appetizing golden tint to the thighs, but careful not to overdo both or it becomes way too salty.

Keywords: Chicken, Main Dish, Easy, Filipino

( RG321 )