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This classic Filipino adobo recipe is perfect for cold nights or whenever you’re looking for a bowl of warm comfort.
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Best Filipino Chicken Adobo Recipe
This popular Filipino dish provides the right balance of sweet and sour while packing plenty of umami in each bite.
When I shared my recipe for Bibinkga (Filipino Coconut Cake), you all shared it like crazy. I’m excited to see so many Filipino food lovers out there.
Although I haven’t traveled to the Philippines yet, my mother-in-law shared her recipes for authentic Filipino dishes with me years ago, so I’m going to pass them along.
This dish is Filipino Adobo made with chicken and pork. I use chicken wings and country–style pork ribs, but you can also use chicken thighs and pork shoulder. For a leaner (but less flavorful) version, you can use chicken breasts and pork chops or loin.
Adobo is a Filipino stew with meat, onion and broth. What makes this dish so good and different from American stew is the vinegar and soy sauce. It defines umami.
The adobo sauce is a little salty and sour with delicious pork and chicken fat and an extra teaspoon of black pepper.
Adobo is traditionally made with whole peppercorns, but that can be intimidating to unsuspecting diners, so I use coarse ground black pepper instead.
Bon appétit – Mabuting gana.
Chicken and Pork Adobo
Ingredients
- 1 tbls olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken wings
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless country-style pork ribs, cubed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp adobo seasoning
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp course ground black pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- cooked white rice
Instructions
- Heat: Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium to medium-high heat.
- Sear: Brown the chicken wings on all sides for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan. Brown the pork on all sides for about 15 minutes.
- Sauté: Add the onion and garlic to the pan and sauté, until tender about 5 minutes.
- Combine: Place the meat, onion and garlic into a stockpot or slow cooker. Add the teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, water, adobo seasoning, ginger, black pepper and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
- Simmer: If using a stockpot, cover and simmer on a stove top over medium-low heat for 1-2 hours. If using a slow cooker, cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Serve: Serve over rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients for this adobo chicken and pork recipe
- Olive oil or vegetable oil
- Chicken wings. Golden brown chicken skin builds the first layer of this comforting stew.
- Boneless country-style pork ribs cubed. Adding another source of protein adds bulk and extra sources of fat for a rich broth.
- Chopped onion
- Chopped garlic
- Teriyaki sauce. This sauce adds a sweet, salty and tangy flavor.
- Soy sauce. You can swap regular soy sauce for a low sodium soy sauce if you prefer less sodium.
- White vinegar. Adds acidic brightness to the flavor profile.
- Water
- Adobo seasoning: I use Goya brand, which can usually be found in the Latin aisle of the grocery
- Ground ginger
- Course ground black pepper. Or whole black peppercorns if you’re feeling daring.
- Bay leaves
- Cooked white rice. Adds body to your dish and soaks up the vinegar sauce beautifully.
Substitutions: You can leave out the pork to just make chicken adobo or leave out the chicken to make all pork adobo. Instead of white rice, you can also serve adobo over brown rice or cauliflower rice.
See the full recipe card for servings and a full list of ingredients.
How to make the national dish of the Philippines
- HEAT: Heat the olive oil in a stockpot, large Dutch oven or large skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
- SEAR: Place the chicken pieces in the pot skin side down. Brown on all sides for about 15 minutes. Remove from pot and place on a paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet pan. Brown the pork pieces on all sides for about 15 minutes.
- SAUTE: Cook the onion and garlic in the same pan until tender. About 5 minutes.
✔️ PRO TIP
By sautéing the veggies in the pork and chicken fat, the dish has deep, rich flavor.
- COMBINE: Place the meat, onion and garlic into the pot or a slow cooker. Add the teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, water, adobo seasoning, ginger, black pepper and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
- SIMMER: Cover pan and simmer on a stovetop over medium-low heat for 1-2 hours. If using a slow cooker, the cooking time is 4-6 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
How to serve chicken and pork adobo
This classic Filipino dish is best served over cooked white sticky rice or jasmine rice. Use a ladle to scoop the juicy chicken and pork onto the rice, and then spoon on some of the delicious sauce. You can garnish with fresh green onion.
Start the meal with some lumpia and add something bright and citrusy like cucumber salad on the side for added color and a pop of freshness to balance this healthy comfort food.
Storage
Leftover chicken adobo can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen for 2-3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Using the stovetop, place desired adobo in a sauce pot and simmer until heated through. You can also microwave it in short 30-second intervals until warm.
There are lots of ways you can switch up this recipe to meet your taste or to fit with what you have in the pantry. Try using pork belly for a decadent take on adobo, the extra fat will infuse the stew with even more flavor.
If you like heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes as you saute the meat and veggies.
Traditional Filipino chicken adobo is made using distilled white vinegar. If you substitute apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar, keep in mind both of those are sweeter, so you may need to adjust the water or soy sauce to balance the flavors.
According to Greatest.com, both come from the Spanish word adovar (to marinate), but the two dishes are not the same. Filipino adobo has a characteristic sweet, sour and salty profile and is the name of an entire dish while Mexican adobo tends to be a spicy sauce that can be used as a marinade or as a simmering sauce for meat and veggies.
How about cooking the adobo in a pressure cooker (after meat is browned)?
That would be great.
T
hanks for the bibingka recipe. Its a little bit different from the traditional pilipino bibingka but i think its delicious..i have to try it.
Hi there,
I stumbled on this recipe for adobo on foodgawker.com – and it was so easy to make and was soooooo good. My grandmother used to make a much more decadent and laborious version of this, but the flavors in your recipe were spot on. Thanks for helping me get my money’s worth out of my slow cooker.
Cheers!
Robin
Thanks for sharing Robin. I’m touched that my recipe even comes close to your grandmas.