Filipino – Chicken Adobo

by Hina Alam

ABOUT THE DISH

Chicken Adobo is an classic Filipino dish which is famous throughout the country because of its elegant taste and simplicity. It is a dish whose main ingredient is chicken which is marinated in soy sauce and different spices and then served over rice in the end. It is the national dish of Philippines and is one the best dishes in the whole country. It is eaten at both lunch and dinner and is enjoyed by the families altogether. It is incredible to look at when the darkness spreads over the chicken because of being marinated in the soy sauce and once cooked its flavor is impeccable. It should be the dish of whole of Asia but it doesn’t get the same recognition that it should get in reality.

HISTORY

This dish goes way back to early 16th and 17th century and from that up to now it is THE dish to eat in the Filipino region. It got its popularity in the early days due to the process in which it is cooked. The marination process is an very old process and is used in different variations of this dish as well. This dish also came into existence when Spain took over Philippines and the people settled there. They used to make this dish in wooden pots and learned the marination technique there and inherited it and called it Adobo.

NAME MEANING

Adobo is an Spanish word which means marination. It got this name because this dish is cooked by being marinated inside the soya sauce. When the Spanish army settled inside of the Philippines they inherited the culture of the Filipino people and learned stuff from them and this dish is also an art that they learned and named it Adobo.

INGREDIENTS TO MAKE IT

• Chicken Drumsticks OR Chicken Thighs (YOUR CHOICE)
• Garlic cloves
• Soy sauce 1/2 cup
• Dark soy sauce 1/4 cup
• Vinegar 1 1/4 cup
• Black pepper
• Black peppercorns 1 tbsp.
• Bay leaves
• Water 1/2 cup

STEPS FOR MARINATION

• Take a bowl and your chicken pieces in it.
• Add some garlic cloves in it and also some black peppercorns.

• Add some black pepper and both soya sauces in the bowl.

• Add the given amount of water in the bowl and also some bay leaves over it.
• Wrap the bowl and let it marinate for 3 hours.

STEPS FOR COOKING IT

• Take a pan and add some oil in it and let it heat.
• Take your chicken out of the marination bowl and put it in the pan to just sear it on both sides.

• When the searing is done add the marination sauce from the bowl into the pan over the seared chicken.
• Let the chicken cook for almost 40 minutes within the sauce.
• Once the required color is started to appear on the chicken take it out.

• Put some rice on a plate and place your chicken on it and add your marinated sauce over them.
• Your dish is ready

TIME REQUIRED

• MARINATION TIME: 3 HOURS
• PREPERATION TIME: 20 MINS
• COOKING TIME: 45 MINS

DISH DETAILS

• COURSE : MAIN
• ORIGIN : PHILIPPINES
• SERVING: 5-6 PERSONS

NUTRITION FACTS

• Calories 330
• Total Fat 7.20g
• Cholesterol 117mg
• Total Carbohydrate 37 g
• Protein 27g
• Sodium 1250mg
• Calcium 18g
• Iron 3g