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CHICKEN-ADOBO - Filipino chicken with garlic
Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines. Most warm-
weather countries have through the centuries developed
recipes that preserve food while flavoring it. This dish is
different than many because of its strong component of vine-
gar. It is at once sour, salty, and drenched in garlic.
INGREDIENTS :
1 kg chicken pieces, cut up or whole
1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped (yes, an entire head!)
50 ml soy sauce (or more to taste)
5 ml ground black pepper
500 ml water
250 ml vinegar (rice vinegar or white wine vinegar work best)
2 bay leaves
25 ml cooking oil
PROCEDURE :
(1) Put vinegar, bay leaves, pepper, soy sauce, and
water in a saucepan. Cover and cook slowly about
15 minutes.
(2) Meanwhile, heat the cooking oil in a large,
heavy-bottomed frying pan. Peel the garlic, break
the cloves into chunks, and brown them over
medium-low heat (about 5 minutes).
(3) Add the chicken to the frypan and brown it over
medium-high heat (about 5 minutes).
(4) Add the broth to the frypan and simmer, partly
covered, until the chicken is done (about 30
minutes). Do not let it come to a boil.
(5) Remove the bay leaves and serve over rice. This
dish is too strongly flavored to go well with
wine; try serving it with beer.
NOTES
You can substitute pork for the chicken, or mix the two. In
the Philippines it is the custom to marinate the meat for
two days rather before simmering; with the top-grade meats
that are universally available in our grocery stores, that
is not necessary (though it does deepen and enrich the fla-
vor). To marinate the chicken, mix in the broth and 3 of
the garlic cloves after step 1, then put the chicken in a
glass dish and pour the marinade over it.
Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines. Most warm-
weather countries have through the centuries developed
recipes that preserve food while flavoring it. This dish is
different than many because of its strong component of vine-
gar. It is at once sour, salty, and drenched in garlic.
INGREDIENTS :
1 kg chicken pieces, cut up or whole
1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped (yes, an entire head!)
50 ml soy sauce (or more to taste)
5 ml ground black pepper
500 ml water
250 ml vinegar (rice vinegar or white wine vinegar work best)
2 bay leaves
25 ml cooking oil
PROCEDURE :
(1) Put vinegar, bay leaves, pepper, soy sauce, and
water in a saucepan. Cover and cook slowly about
15 minutes.
(2) Meanwhile, heat the cooking oil in a large,
heavy-bottomed frying pan. Peel the garlic, break
the cloves into chunks, and brown them over
medium-low heat (about 5 minutes).
(3) Add the chicken to the frypan and brown it over
medium-high heat (about 5 minutes).
(4) Add the broth to the frypan and simmer, partly
covered, until the chicken is done (about 30
minutes). Do not let it come to a boil.
(5) Remove the bay leaves and serve over rice. This
dish is too strongly flavored to go well with
wine; try serving it with beer.
NOTES
You can substitute pork for the chicken, or mix the two. In
the Philippines it is the custom to marinate the meat for
two days rather before simmering; with the top-grade meats
that are universally available in our grocery stores, that
is not necessary (though it does deepen and enrich the fla-
vor). To marinate the chicken, mix in the broth and 3 of
the garlic cloves after step 1, then put the chicken in a
glass dish and pour the marinade over it.
