Chicken Adobo

4.79 from 28 votes

Chicken adobo is a classic Filipino dish made with chicken marinated in soy sauce and spices, then cooked until tender. It’s easy and flavor-packed!

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Marinate Time8

Total Time8 55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Filipino

Total Cost: $9.71 recipe / $1.62 serving

Servings: servings

Calories: 564kcal

Author: Beth Moncel

Equipment

Large Pot

Ingredients

4 lbs. bone-in chicken skin-on, $7.88*
½ cup soy sauce 4 oz., $0.42
½ cup apple cider vinegar 4 oz., $0.28
2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 oz., $0.08
2 Tbsp honey 1 oz., $0.31
2 bay leaves whole, $0.30
1 Tbsp garlic minced, (about 2 cloves) $0.15
1 Tbsp black peppercorns whole, $0.29

Instructions

Gather and prep your ingredients.
Arrange the chicken pieces in a large pot in one layer. Remove the skin if desired.
Combine the rest of the ingredients (soy sauce, vinegar, honey, oil, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns) in a bowl and whisk until the honey is dissolved. Partially crush the peppercorns if desired. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.**
When you’re ready to make the chicken, add just enough water so that the liquid comes just up to the top of the chicken (about 1/2 cup). Cover the pot with a lid, place the pot over a high flame, and bring it up to a rolling boil. When it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium/low and let simmer for 30 minutes.
Preheat your broiler on high. Remove the chicken from the pot and place it on a broiler pan (or a sheet pan with wire cooling racks placed on top). Place the chicken under the broiler until it is brown and crispy on top (5-10 minutes), depending on your broiler).
While the chicken is broiling, turn pot with the soy/vinegar liquid up to high and bring up to a rapid boil. Allow the liquid to boil heavily until it is reduced in volume by approximately one half. You may need to boil it for 5-10 minutes longer than the chicken is in the oven to get it to this point.
Use a soft brush to baste a few layers of the reduced soy/vinegar liquid onto the browned chicken. You can also toss the chicken in the sauce instead. Serve over rice or noodles and spoon more of the reduced liquid over top.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*I use bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks. Any bone-in chicken pieces will work here, just make sure the internal temperature reaches 165°F in the thickest part before serving.

**Make sure to factor in a few hours or overnight to the prep time for this chicken to marinate. If you're short on time, a 30-minute marinade in the fridge will still work!

Nutrition

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