Chicken Adobo

via the Kitchn

During her wedding this weekend, my friend was gifted a massive Mark Bittman cookbook, which I flipped through while sipping wine and dreaming about the meals I could cook this week.  I came across a chicken adobo recipe.  I paused.  

Not surprisingly, in my mind, no one can beat my grandma Elpidia's recipe.  Chicken adobo is not a dish I make or have dared to make.  It's reserved for my early childhood memories of running around on some provincial farm in the Philippines, or for my trips back home when my grandma comments on how old I am getting, usually over a meal of this dish and copious amounts of steaming white rice.  

But I guess if Mark Bittman can make chicken adobo, so can I.

This time, I am using his recipe, which calls for the addition of coconut milk.  Already, our small home in the District feels a little more homey.

Chicken Adobo

Adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman (found here)

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
 

• 1 (3-4 lb.) whole chicken, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 pieces*
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup white or rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. chopped garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk**
• Cooked white rice (enough for however many people you are serving)

*I buy a pre-cut whole chicken because I am lazy and have bad knife skills to boot. If you didn’t want to do a whole chicken, it would be perfectly fine to use breasts or whatever you like. He also says this recipe works well with bone-in or boneless pork chops.
**Bittman says this isn’t mandatory, but since the sauce is the most important part of this dish, I wouldn’t leave this out if I were you, it won’t be nearly as rich. I had canned coconut milk on hand, which works just fine, but he says it’s easy to make yourself and tastes purer than canned, so I’m providing his recipe below if you want to attempt that.
Process

1. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, pepper, water, and half the coconut milk in a covered skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Add the chicken, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, turning a few times, until the chicken is almost done, about 20 minutes.
   Optional: At this point, you may refrigerate the chicken in the liquid for up to a day before proceeding; skim the fat before reheating.
   
3. Heat the oven to 450 degrees (F). You can also cook this on a grill or under a broiler, but roasting seemed easiest to me.
4. Remove the chicken pieces from the liquid, dry them gently with paper towels and place in a dish. Don’t discard the sauce. Roast the chicken until brown and crisp and hot, about 15 minutes (closer to 10 if you are grilling or broiling instead).
5. While the chicken is cooking, add the rest of the coconut milk to the sauce in the pan and boil over high heat until sauce is thick and reduced to about 1 cup. Discard the bay leaves and keep warm until chicken is ready.

Serve with rice and top with lots of sauce.
- See more at: http://backtothecuttingboard.com/dinner/chicken-adobo/#sthash.EwSNAYN3.dpuf

• 1 (3-4 lb.) whole chicken, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 pieces*
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup white or rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. chopped garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk**
• Cooked white rice (enough for however many people you are serving)

*I buy a pre-cut whole chicken because I am lazy and have bad knife skills to boot. If you didn’t want to do a whole chicken, it would be perfectly fine to use breasts or whatever you like. He also says this recipe works well with bone-in or boneless pork chops.
**Bittman says this isn’t mandatory, but since the sauce is the most important part of this dish, I wouldn’t leave this out if I were you, it won’t be nearly as rich. I had canned coconut milk on hand, which works just fine, but he says it’s easy to make yourself and tastes purer than canned, so I’m providing his recipe below if you want to attempt that.
Process

1. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, pepper, water, and half the coconut milk in a covered skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Add the chicken, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, turning a few times, until the chicken is almost done, about 20 minutes.
   Optional: At this point, you may refrigerate the chicken in the liquid for up to a day before proceeding; skim the fat before reheating.
   
3. Heat the oven to 450 degrees (F). You can also cook this on a grill or under a broiler, but roasting seemed easiest to me.
4. Remove the chicken pieces from the liquid, dry them gently with paper towels and place in a dish. Don’t discard the sauce. Roast the chicken until brown and crisp and hot, about 15 minutes (closer to 10 if you are grilling or broiling instead).
5. While the chicken is cooking, add the rest of the coconut milk to the sauce in the pan and boil over high heat until sauce is thick and reduced to about 1 cup. Discard the bay leaves and keep warm until chicken is ready.

Serve with rice and top with lots of sauce.
- See more at: http://backtothecuttingboard.com/dinner/chicken-adobo/#sthash.EwSNAYN3.dpuf3/4 cup soy sauce1/2 cup white or rice vinegar

3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white or rice vinegar
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 whole (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut up (with legs separated from thighs); or use 2 pounds bone-in thighs or leg/ thigh pieces cut in two.

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients with 1 cup water in a covered pot large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to medium-low or low (you want a slow simmer, nothing more). Cook, covered, about 30 minutes, turning once or twice, until chicken is cooked through. (You may prepare the recipe in advance up to this point; refrigerate the chicken, in the liquid, for up to a day before proceeding.)
2. Meanwhile, start a charcoal or wood fire or preheat a gas grill or broiler. The fire need not be too hot, but place the rack just 3 or 4 inches from the heat source.
3. Remove chicken, and dry it gently with paper or cloth towels. Boil liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 1 cup; discard bay leaves; keep sauce warm. Meanwhile, grill or broil chicken until brown and crisp, 5 minutes per side. Serve chicken with sauce and white rice.