I got this recipe from a Filipino friend. It calls for anise seeds...not all adobo recipes do. She said its a regional thing. I think it gives the adobo a unique flavor. Anise is similar to black licorice...kinda. I CANNOT STAND black licorice, so I was skeptical, but this really is delicious.
I use boneless/skinless chicken thighs, just because they stay moist. I clean them up pretty well and remove a lot of the fat. I've used chicken breast, but thigh meat is by far better.
Filipino Adobo
- 2 lbs of boneless/skinless Chicken (cut into small/medium pieces)
- 2 tbs. vegetable oil
- 1 c. water
- 1/3 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 tsp Accent seasoning (Don't be a baby...it's not going to kill you**)
- 1/4 tsp anise seeds
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 1/2 clove of Garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
- 6 Pepper Corns
- 1 lg white Onion, sliced or chopped
- 1/4 c. White Vinegar
- 4 additional cloves of Garlic, minced
- Place chicken, water, soy sauce, half clove of minced garlic, anise seeds, bay leaf, black pepper, and pepper corns in a large pan.
- Boil for 15 minutes or until tender.
- Separate chicken from the sauce and set aside. DO NOT THROW AWAY THE SAUCE, it will be used later.
- In another pan, sauté the remaining garlic in oil until it starts to get a slight golden color. DO NOT BURN...burnt garlic is horrible and will ruin the whole dish...and garlic can go from golden to "oh shit" very quickly. Just keep an eye on it.
- Add onion to the garlic and sauté until golden brown.
- Add the cooked chicken back to the garlic and onion mixture.
- Cook on medium heat for an additional 15 minutes. Again, make sure nothing burns, specifically the garlic.
- Add the sauce back into the chicken, garlic, onion mixture.
- Stir in the vinegar. DO NOT COVER THE POT.
- Turn up the heat and bring it all back to a boil briefly.
- Once it reaches a boil, turn it down to a low heat. It should be bubbling, but not a rolling boil.
- Allow some of the liquid to reduce, which should take about 15 minutes (longer, if you'd like the sauce to reduce more).
Serve over steamed, white rice.
The recipe is flexible. If you like it with a stronger soy sauce taste, add more. If you like it a little more sour, add more vinegar.
If you add more/extra of any liquid, aside from what's called for in the recipe, I'd simmer at the end a little longer...just because it'll take longer to reduce. I reduce mine down enough so that it will coat a spoon nicely, but not too thick. It's personal preference. Keep in mind, the more you reduce it, the more concentrated the flavors will become...taste test it along the way until its right where you like it.
** The accent seasoning is MSG, so it gives the adobo that "Asian" taste. If you can't have MSG, it can be omitted, if needed, but it really does make it better.