Chicken Adobo Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What is the best vinegar to use for adobo? ›

Traditionally, cane or coconut vinegar is used. For my own recipe, I chose rice vinegar because it's a little less sharp on the palate. But truthfully, I've made so many last-minute adobos with white vinegar, apple cider, or a combination of whatever I have left in my pantry, and they've all turned out great.

How do you fix sour adobo? This is a simple fix. To offset too much vinegar, add soy sauce and water. Here's why: In the "parts" recipe, you combine 1 part soy sauce, 1/2 a part water, and 1/2 a part vinegar, along with 5 or 6 peppercorns, a bay leaf, and a crushed clove of garlic.

But, as for my father's words, do not stir it after you add the vinegar because "it may ruin the taste of the adobo." Bay leaves are quite optional to put when I cook my adobo. Salt is optional, too, because all the salty taste will be coming from the soy sauce.

In Mexico, adobo sauce starts with dried chiles like guajillo and ancho peppers. The chiles are rehydrated and combined into a thick paste with an acid like vinegar or citrus juice and flavorful additions like onions, garlic, cumin, and oregano.

Soy Sauce: I like to use low-sodium soy sauce, but regular works too. Vinegar: Use a third cup of apple cider vinegar, white vinegar can also be used. Garlic: Crush a small head of garlic – about eight garlic cloves. Peppercorns: Grind six black peppercorns with a mortar and pestle.

Sugar: If you find your adobo too tart, add a little sugar to mellow it out.

(For a thicker consistency, blend a small amount of flour with coconut milk, chicken broth, or water, then stir into sauce.)

But in adobo, vinegar doesn't sit slyly in the background — it dominates. That said, as with every great dish, a good adobo is all about balance. “If you taste the sauce right after you add the liquids, it'll be too tart.

Incorporate Lemon Juice, Vinegar or Sugar

Many cooks combat a salty dish with a splash of lemon juice or vinegar. You can also try mixing in a sweetener like white sugar, brown sugar, honey or agave syrup. The goal is to dilute the soy sauce and to create a harmonious blend of flavors.

Yes and no, many companies that make and sell adobo seasoning do put MSG in their seasoning blend, along with a host of other ingredients you probably do not want in your food. But Seasonest is not one of those companies. Seasonest Adobo seasoning is a savory blend of pure, fresh, organic herbs and spices.

Can you use ground pepper in adobo? ›

But if you hate biting into random peppercorns when eating your adobo, feel free to use ground pepper.

“Some people add coconut milk; some cooks add a bit of sweetness in the form of sugar, honey, ripe fruit or even preserves to round out the adobo's sharp acidity and saltiness,” Ponseca writes.

The traditional Filipino chicken adobo generally uses palm vinegar. However, unless you live in a major city with massive access to all sorts of pan-Asian ingredients, you're not likely to find that in your local market. My stepmother, who passed on this recipe to me, suggested white wine vinegar as a good substitute.

Filipino Chicken Adobo is a simple dish that packs a big flavor punch. The combination of soy, vinegar, and sugar creates a salty-sweet tangy glaze that is hard to stop eating. Paired with the bright crunch of the corn and cucumber salad, this dish goes equally well on a bed of rice as it does in a taco.

Filipino Adobo is an indigenous dish that received a Spanish name because it reminded the Spaniards of how they marinated and preserved meat with spices. They are not the same, but they are similar because each culture needed to preserve and flavor food so it wouldn't rot.

Cane vinegar is the most common vinegar in the Philippines because a small amount of sugarcane yields a relatively high amount of juice. It's also the most widely available Filipino vinegar overseas—it's what you're most likely to see in the U.S. (Datu Puti is a widespread brand).

Add black vinegar to your favorite Filipino chicken (or turkey) adobo. 4. Use black vinegar instead of lemon to punch up the flavor of scallops in brown butter.

Today, marinades are generally used to bring out the flavor of the meat. An ideal ingredient for this purpose (among many other uses!) is apple cider vinegar. As a powerful bactericide, it helps eliminate any impurities in the meat.