Adobo Chicken is a classic Filipino recipe cooked in soy sauce, garlic, vinegar and peppercorns that makes the most delicious braised chicken ever.
Filipino recipes are delicious and underrated as Chinese Recipes are more popular in the United States, but if more people had tried this Adobo Chicken recipe it could even give my crazy popular Orange Chicken recipe a run for it’s money in the flavor department.
You may not be entirely familiar with Filipino Chicken Adobo, but I can assure you one bite of this one-pot dutch oven incredible recipe and you will be a fan. Adobo Chicken is a unique Asian recipe compared to most of the Asian braised chicken recipes on the blog (like the Honey Garlic Chicken) because the chicken has no added sweeteners and a half a cup of vinegar along with a full tablespoon of whole black peppercorns.
There are a lot of bold flavors in this chicken adobo recipe. But once the chicken is done marinading and you braise it in the oven you won’t believe how amazing the flavors are. It isn’t too salty, or too strong of vinegar. It isn’t too spicy from pepper, it is in fact completely well balanced and perfect served over Sticky Steamed White Rice.
How to Make Chicken Adobo
- Bone in Chicken – This chicken is braised over a long period of time until it is tender, so bone-in skin-on chicken is necessary.
- Marinate for 4 hours – The time it marinades allows the chicken to absorbs all the flavors of the garlic cloves, soy sauce, vinegar and pepper. Do not skimp on the marinating time.
- Braise the chicken – Cook the chicken pieces covered first skin side down, then uncovered in the marinade skin side up until it is browned and the adobo sauce is thickened.
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Adobo Sauce Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs – Chicken thighs and chicken legs are the two best cuts of chicken to use in this Filipino dish, be sure to use bone in and skin on. I do not recommend using chicken breasts in this recipe.
- Soy Sauce – I use low sodium soy sauce in all recipes as the sodium in regular soy sauce is just too high and the flavors are too salty in recipe testing.
- White Vinegar – I have tested this adobo recipe with rice vinegar, cane vinegar, apple cider vinegar and white wine vinegar and the classic version with distilled white vinegar is the best option for you to use.
- Bay Leaf – Do not skip this ingredient and be sure to remove them before serving.
- Garlic Cloves – Garlic is a prominent flavor in this recipe and must be included. Do not substitute powdered garlic in it’s place.
- Black Peppercorns – You need a full tablespoon of whole black peppercorns, do not add ground black pepper to this recipe or your palate will be blown out.
What to serve with Adobo Chicken?
We love to serve Baked Brown Rice (it cooks along side the chicken in the oven), Roasted Vegetables and fun dim sum appetizers including Spring Rolls, Egg Rolls and Crab Rangoon dipped in Sweet and Sour Sauce.
Instant Pot Chicken Adobo Recipe
- Add the marinaded chicken and sauce to your instant pot and set the pressure to high for 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and place on sheet pan and place under broiler to crisp.
- Reduce remaining sauce on sauté setting of instant pot until reduced by half.
Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo Recipe
- Add all the ingredients and the chicken skin side up into a large slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6-7 hours.
- Remove the chicken and place on sheet pan and place under broiler to crisp.
- Remove remaining sauce from slow cooker, reduce on your stovetop in a small saucepan until thickened.
Adobo Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs bone-in and skin-on
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 4 bay leaves
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients together in a large bowl and marinade for 4 hours.
Heat oven to 375 degrees, add the chicken skin side down to a large dutch oven along with the sauce and bake, covered, for 30 minutes.
Uncover, turn the chicken over and glaze with the sauce and cook, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes until the chicken is browned and the sauce is reduced.
This was excellent. It made me look like a rockstar in the kitchen. I will make this again & again .
So glad I found your site.
Yay!!
Heard a lot about Chicken and Pork Adobo! I’m trying Adobo Chicken tomorrow for lunch. Is it okay to add potatoes (parboiled and cut in half) in the last leg of the cooking? We love potatoes. Thanks.
It might alter the cooking time, but yes you can add them.
I’ve heard so much about Adobo Chicken and finally made it today using your exact recipe and in a crockpot. Absolutely delicious!….and so easy to make. I’ll definitely show off with this dish many more times.
This dish is phenomenal. My kids, husband, and mother all agree, this is the best chicken they ever had. The sauce makes it. People, do not be put off by the vinegar. Something magical happens in the cooking process an turns it into an umami dream. 🙂
I’m so glad to know your family enjoys it so much, Courtney.
Can I cook chicken adobo in the IP/crockpot, keep it in the fridge, then broil it when we are ready to eat it? Have a ton of leg quarters so want to meal prep. Thanks!
Sounds like a great idea!
Super delicious! Tho’ I’m not Filipino, I grew up with this dish. I liked the equal parts of vinegar and soy sauce in this recipe and also increased the liquid amount for extra sauce. I cooked it in a crock pot, and my house smelled so good. I forgot to leave pieces whole bc I usually cut up the chicken and PORK into smaller pieces. So good! Totally Keto too if you eat with cauliflower rice!
Sounds perfect!
Nice Adobe but I will add 1\2 teaspoon sesame oil. And a good sprinkle of hot green chili powder you can buy online about 1 teaspoon .. also a splash of real sherry not the garbage they sell for cooking in the baking isle at safeway the sherry adds a little nutty taste…?
The sauce by this recipe does not thicken up, and has a distinct vinegar flavor which upsets the whole dish.
guess ya gotta like vinegar.
Respectfully, you did something wrong. Perhaps didn’t cook long enough? I don’t know, I have made this dish multiple times and the vinegar flavor departs through the cooking process. It breakdown with the soy sauce and creates this incredible flavor. I use a dutch oven but I have cooked it in a slow cooker as well and it worked nicely. I do prefer the dutch oven process though. I feel the flavor and meat come out slightly better that way. Perhaps give it another go!?
So the marinade you use for raw chicken is all put into slow cooker or whatever method you use to cook it.
Yes 🙂
I didn’t “marinate” it ,just put everything in the crockpot and let it cook on low 7 hours – plenty of time to be flavorful.
Do you cook it uncovered in the oven or on the stove?
Covered in the oven for the first 30 minutes then uncover for an additional 30 minutes.
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I used my new dutch oven I got for my birthday and it was perfect for both cooking the dish in the oven and then reducing the sauce a bit more on the stovetop. It was a little on the salty side, but that was to be expected and honestly didn’t detract from our enjoyment of the dish. We will definitely be making this again and, next time, I’ll use lower-sodium soy sauce.
So glad you enjoyed it, Jeanette.
So simple to make and absolutely delicious. Only thing I would do next time put peppercorns in cheesecloth. Not a fan of biting into whole peppercorns.