Adobo, along with the comforting arroz caldo, is a great dish to start with if you are new to Filipino cuisine. This dish is savory, sweet, tangy, and a great way to fill your kitchen with the delicious aromas of garlic, onions, and other spices. This is a great crowd pleaser and can be made with staple pantry ingredients. It is not to be confused with the adobo seasoning found in Spanish-speaking countries. Filipino adobo uses chicken or pork and each family has their own recipe.

Use dark meat chicken or wings. To soak up the flavor, you’ll need some steamed rice! It’s easy to adjust the ingredients to your taste preferences, so you can make it peppery, tangy, or sweet.

This amount of food would be enough for 2 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 lbs chicken (chicken wings sections, thighs and drumsticks, or a mixture)
• 1/4 cup good soybean sauce
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar added to your taste
• 1/4 cup vinegar apple cider, or white vinegar
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium onion cut into slivers
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 bay leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To marinade, add soy sauce vinegar, chicken and half of the garlic to a large bowl. Place in the refrigerator for between 30 and 60 minutes.
2. In a large saucepan, dutch oven or pot heat a little olive oil.
3. Sauté garlic and onions in olive oil until fragrant. Then, push the pan to one side.
4. To lightly brown the meat, place it in a pan.
5. The rest of the marinade should be poured over the browned meat. If you did not marinade, you can add the soy sauce or vinegar to this part.
6. Mix in the bay leaves, black pepper, and sugar. Stir gently
7. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Tender chicken is possible by cooking for a longer time at low heat.
8. Cover the saucepan and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally to allow sauce to reduce and thicken.

Optional: To get more greens, we like to add a bag of baby spinach leaves to the sauce. It goes well with the sauce.

* Adobo is traditionally made from whole peppercorns. However, we prefer freshly ground black pepper. It is a key ingredient so make sure you use fresh pepper whenever possible.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTANTPOT 

1. The saute function can be used to heat up some olive oil and saute the onions and garlic, then brown the chicken.

2. The rest of the ingredients are added to the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 8 minutes for chicken wings or 9 minutes for thighs and drumsticks. It will take some time for the pressure to build up in the pot.

3. Allow the sauce to vent for 10-15 minutes. Once it is ready, open the lid and press the saute key.

Tip: If you purchase chicken in a tray, marinate it in that tray to save having to wash another bowl.