Adobo is one of the many celebrated dishes in the Philippines. This typical dish is very often serve and shared during lunch or dinner. Some would make it extra special for special occasions.
There are so many ways of cooking adobo, each region in the Philippines has their own version of adobo but the traditional way of making it is far from complicated. You can use pork, chicken, duck its up to your preference but nothing beats a simple but delicious chicken pinoy adobo.
Braised Chicken or Chicken Adobo
Being born and raised in Bicol, a beautiful region in southern Luzon, I was taught and grew up eating chicken adobo made the rustic way. Basically we want utilise every single part of the chicken. Everything is edible as long as it is prepared and cooked the right way.
Gizzard is naturally tough while chicken liver will quickly melt in the pot. The gizzard is a muscle found and part of a chicken’s digestive system, it is the muscle that basically grind up the food or any ingested solids. This powerful muscle works 24/7, therefore it’s very important that it is cooked properly and braised enough to tenderise the muscle.
Always sauté giblets in ginger to remove unnecessary smell, when evenly brown add the liver, remove from the heat after 3 minutes and set aside.
Whole Chicken, 1 cup water, 1/4 soy sauce, 1 bulb garlic, ginger, 1/4 tsp whole black pepper, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp brown sugar and 2 pcs. bay leaf are the essential ingredients you need to make a hearty adobo meal.
Break down the chicken into small chunks. I never make a boneless adobo. The bone has a lot of collagen which is a natural thickener. You’ll get a really nice, beautiful thick and shiny sauce at the end, that is what we are looking for. I also tend to leave most of the skin as it is a source of fat and fat is flavour! Once the chicken is ready, add soy sauce, garlic, ginger, basically everything in the pot and leave it to marinate for 30 mins.
Add the water, gizzard, liver and start braising for more or less an hour. Make sure that the gizzard is soft and tender, adjust the seasoning of the adobo, when the sauce is well reduced, the gizzard is tender then it is ready! Serve with a cup of steamed rice.
That is chicken adobo a true filipino classic! Hope you enjoy!
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