Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Chicken Adobo
Chicken braised glossy in vinegar, soy, garlic, and black pepper, the Philippines’ definitive dish.
Filipino · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 45 min
~746 cal · 76g protein · 62g carbs · 18g fat · 1g fiber · 3g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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is widely considered the national dish of the Philippines, chicken (or pork) until glossy and tender in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. The technique of cooking meat in vinegar predates Spanish contact; the colonizers simply named it '' (marinade) for its resemblance to their own preserving method.
The vinegar is the soul of the dish, both a preservative that suited the tropical climate and the source of 's signature tang, mellowed by long braising and balanced by savory soy. Every Filipino family guards its own version, more vinegar or more soy, with or without or sugar, and debates whose is best.
Served over steaming white rice, is cooked in home kitchens across the islands and carried by the diaspora worldwide.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2.5 lbs chicken thighs, bone-in
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup cane or white vinegar
1 whole head garlic, cloves separated and smashed
3-5 bay leaves (laurel)
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 cups steamed rice, to serve
Instructions
1
Marinate the chicken in the soy, vinegar, and garlic for 30 minutes if you have it.
✎ Chef’s note
Use the whole head of garlic. Filipino cooks are not shy with it here and it flavours the braise without overwhelming it.
2
Tip everything, marinade included, into a pot with bay, peppercorns, sugar, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil without stirring (an old rule: let the vinegar cook off first).
3
Simmer covered 30 minutes, turning once.
4
Uncover and reduce until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the chicken. For extra credit, crisp the pieces under the broiler and pour the sauce over.
5
Serve over rice, spooning sauce generously, adobo improves overnight.
Luzon household standard.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Central Luzon. Sisig has a clearer trail. The Kapampangan word manyisig, recorded in Bergano's dictionary, meant a sour salad; the modern chopped-pork-face version grew out of cheap pig heads from the Clark Air Base commissaries in Angeles City, and Lucia Cunanan is credited with putting it on a sizzling plate. The tourism department calls Pampanga the country's culinary capital.
🗺️
Philippines. Eating with the hands has a technique and a name. In pagkakamay a small mound of rice is pressed together with a piece of the ulam using the fingers of one hand, lifted in four cupped fingers and pushed in with the thumb, and the fingers never go into the mouth. At a salu-salo the table is lined with banana leaves wilted over a flame first to bring up their sheen.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Philippines
ChamporadoA sweet Filipino chocolate rice porridge, traditionally eaten with salty dried fish on the side.
Sinigang na BaboyThe Philippines’ beloved sour soup: pork simmered tender in a clear tamarind broth, unapologetically tart, loaded with vegetables added in stages.
Pancit BihonThin rice noodles stir-fried with chicken, shrimp, and vegetables in a savory soy sauce, a Filipino celebration staple.
Browse all Philippines recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Chicken Adobo?
Chicken braised glossy in vinegar, soy, garlic, and black pepper, the Philippines’ definitive dish.
Where does Chicken Adobo come from?
Chicken Adobo is a Filipino dish from Central Luzon, Philippines.
Can Chicken Adobo be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Chicken Adobo recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Chicken Adobo safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Chicken Adobo take to make?
About 55 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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