Chicken Adobo

Chicken what? That’s right chicken adobo. A Filipino comfort food that I am now just beginning to explore. I have heard my wife tell me stories of her childhood, and what was served on the table, and one of the dishes that most everyone loved, was chicken adobo. Slow cooked chicken in a delicious vinegar and garlic broth, served over rice. What more could one ask for?

As I was truly battling the idea of making chicken tinola this morning, I instead decided to make chicken adobo. This was an easy decision because it does not take much to put together, and in the end, you end up with a really great comfort dish.

Ingredients:

• Whole chicken fryer, or what I used; 10 drumsticks, 1 chicken breast, and 2 chicken thighs
• 1 3/4 cup of vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp of black peppercorns
• 7 cloves of garlic, rough chop
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 inch of ginger, rough smash
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• chicken broth
• 8 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cups of rice, uncooked
• thai chilies (optional)

Begin by adding in the chicken to a large soup pot. Add in the vinegar, soy sauce, peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves, and ginger. Add enough chicken broth just below the amount of chicken. Bring this to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours. I actually simmered mine for six hours. Tast the broth when you think you are ready to serve. The broth should have this great garlic, soy, and vinegar taste to it. If it doesn’t, add a bit more of vinegar or soy to the broth and continue to cook. I had my father-in-law here with me to guide me along, so he said it was good to go. Once it is ‘good to go’, cook your rice. I used two cups of rice, rinsed over once, water drained, then add two cups of water to cook. Once the rice is cooked, add to the bottom of your serving bowl, top with the chicken pieces, and ladle over a bit of the broth. This turns out to be awesome in flavor, and becomes an easy one plate meal where you can mix your chicken and rice. Truly yummy.