Recipe : Chicken Adobo

Chicken (and pork) adobo is a dish that has been completely under the radar for me. A couple of years ago, Saveur ran an article which included a recipe for pork adobo but that was the extent of my knowledge of adobo. Despite that, for some strange reason, I decided to cook my chicken legs as chicken adobo rather than proceeding with my original plan of making chicken and dumplings.

I looked at a number of different recipes on the web, comparing common ingredients, regional differences, techniques used, etc.,. After reading what seemed like dozens of different recipes, I came up with the one that follows. I don't know how close I came to "real" chicken adobo, since I've never had it before, but what a revelation this dish is! Its vinegary sauce is like crack...completely addictive and hard to get enough of.



Chicken Adobo

4 chicken legs with thighs attached
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2-4 Bird's eye chiles
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup water

1 T cornstarch
water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cut thighs from chicken legs and place in a braising pan, along with garlic, chiles, bay leaves, soy sauce, vinegar, and water. Cover dish and braise in the oven for 90 minutes.

Remove dish from oven and turn on the broiler. Remove chicken pieces from the braising liquid and place skin-side up on a foil-lined sheet pan or on a broiler tray.

Remove remaining solids from the braising liquid and discard. Boil liquid over high heat until it's reduced by 1/3 or so. Dissolve cornstarch in water and stir into the braising liquid. Reduce heat and let simmer until thickened slightly.

Meanwhile, place chicken pieces under the broiler until the skin is browned and crispy.

Serve chicken with sauce.