Chicken Adobo

The Story:

Tonight we ate Chicken Adobo which is a Filipino dish. I was taught to make this recipe by a very close friend. Often times it is made with Pork or Beef. I was taught to make it with Drummettes which is all white meat chicken like you would use making Buffalo Wings. I prefer not to deal with all of the bones in Drummettes and have altered the recipe to use regular chicken parts. This is a tangy and salty dish that is super easy, throw it in a pot, style meal. And best of all, the kids love it!

The great thing about this recipe is that it is so easily scalable if you want more or less. The recipe below would make 8-10 servings. If you want to make less add in the desired number of pieces of chicken and then add enough soy sauce and white vinegar to cover the middle of the chicken, peppers and onions. It is not necessary to cover the top of the chicken as the chicken will cook down and add it's own juices to the liquid. The ratio of soy sauce to vinegar is 1:1.

The other thing I like about this recipe is that it takes about 15 minutes to throw in a pot. Leave it unattended for an hour and come back and dinner is ready! It's so easy and versatile. Sometimes I like to add slightly more vinegar than soy sauce because I like it a little tangier. It just depends on my mood. I also like a lot of peppers. They absorb the flavors and take on a whole new pepper taste. I like a lot of them on my plate with the rice.

The Ingredients:

3 Boneless Skinless Breasts

3 Legs (Skinned)

3 Thighs (Skinned)

3 Green Bell Peppers chopped (large pieces, nickel size)

2 Med. White Onions chopped (large pieces, nickel size)

2 T. Garlic Powder

2 T. minced garlic

2 T. black pepper

2 C. Soy Sauce

2 C White Vinegar

3 C. Jasmine Rice*

2 T. Sesame Oil*

The Preparations:

In a large pot over a medium heat, combine chopped bell peppers, onions, soy sauce and vinegar. Next, give your chicken a good bath in cold water. This washes away the impurities of sitting around in blood for a few days at the grocery store. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Lightly coat each piece of chicken with garlic powder and black pepper. Place the pieces in the pot with the peppers and onions. Mix well to ensure all of the chicken gets a good drenching in the soy sauce and white vinegar. Cover and let cook for an hour stirring occasionally and maintaining the medium heat.

This step is optional. I take out my breasts and chop them into bite size pieces and place them back into the pot. This is because the breasts do not seem to absorb the tangy sauce as much as the dark meat does. Chopping them in this way ensures that each bite of chicken will have that tangy flavor. I also take out each of the thighs and legs and remove the bones and chop those pieces as well. If you don't mind bones on your guests plates, you do not have to take the time to do this either. I personally, do not like seeing the bones or watching my guests try to gracefully move them aside in a bowl.

*The Accompaniments:

Steam 3 C. Jasmine rice to make 6 C. cooked rice. Before serving the rice stir in 2 tablespoons of Sesame Oil until evenly distributed. This gives the rice a great flavor and keeps it from becoming too sticky. I always use Jasmine rice because of it's texture and aroma. I also always wash the starch off of my rice before cooking. I rinse it several times until the water is mostly clear. Washing the starch off is controversial in that some say it washes away the nutrients of the rice. Washing makes the rice fluffier, lighter and prevents the sticky mushy texture that can sometimes arise. If you know me, then you know that I have never been one for chasing down the nutrition in a food. I am after the flavor.

Enjoy over rice. Make it soupy or strain it, either way it is terrific!

This meal get's my husband's approval and a rating of an 8!