Chicken Adobo Variation #1

Spanish for seasoning or marinade, adobo is also a term used for the name of a well-known Filipino dish typically made from pork or chicken (or a combination of both). I first read the recipe in Greg Atkinson’s great Seattle Times article Food for the Crew which made it into Best Food Writing 2001. It looked so good and easy, which is a big selling point for me, I decided to give it a go. After a quick search of the net for alternate recipes I decided on a mix of things I saw. The result was really good. Salty and tangy balanced but maybe leaning a little heavily to the salt side. As we were eating I mentioned to L that adding something sweet to balance the savory would really make it for me, maybe honey. One recipe called for fresh grated ginger, one called for replacing vinegar with lemon juice, another for adding pineapple bits and some of the syrup—it all sounds good to me. There are so many different takes available online that for the next couple of months I’m going to keep experimenting and posting the variations. This will be Chicken Adobo Variation #1:

CHICKEN ADOBO

Ingredients
2 pounds organic, free run, skinless chicken breast
1 cup vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
3 + 1 cloves roasted garlic, crushed
1 tbsp fresh cracked pepper
1 bay leaf
unsalted butter

Method
Wash the chicken and cut into about eight pieces. Throw the pieces into a pot with soy sauce, vinegar, water, 3 garlic cloves, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and keep chicken bubbling for 25 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from the liquid but keep the liquid boiling. Heat some unsalted butter with the other crushed garlic clove in a separate fry pan. Add the chicken and fry until brown. Return the chicken to the liquid (which will have reduced a bit).

Serve with steamed white rice.