Chicken Adobo

I had been wanting to take a cooking class for quite some time now. Actually, I often dream of quitting my day job and enrolling myself into cooking school full-time. But I have yet to find that elusive money tree everyone keeps talking about. 

There are a ton of cooking schools and classes in the city, but I was looking for a specific one. I wanted to learn how to properly use a knife to slice, dice and chop like a pro. I found a knife skills class offered at the Bowery Culinary Center. It sounds fancy, but it's a tiny cooking studio next to a Whole Foods in SoHo. 

During the three-hour class we learned how to a) properly hold a knife and cut and b) how to cut up a whole chicken. We then split up into groups and prepared one chicken dish each, one of which I will share with you. 

Adobo is a cooking process, Spanish in origin, whereby meat, poultry or seafood is marinated in vinegar and garlic, browned in oil and then simmered in the marinade. The meat or chicken ends up having a ton of flavor and is deliciously juicy. Here is the adapted recipe of chicken adobo. In this version, you don't need to marinate the chicken beforehand. 

Chicken Adobo

Ingredients: 

3 pound chicken, cut up*

4-5 tablespoons canola oil, more if needed

5 garlic cloves cut in half

1 cup rice vinegar

1 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cup water or low-sodium chicken broth

3 bay leaves 

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

*If you are used to cutting up a whole chicken, then go right ahead. When I went to the grocery store, the whole chickens just didn't look fresh, so I opted to buy a pack of bone-in, whole chicken legs, 8 drumsticks and two bone-in breasts. Not only did it save me time in the kitchen, but it cost me less to buy chicken in pieces. It did feel like cheating, but those whole chickens looked so awful, I had no choice. I did't feel like getting sick from old chicken.

Method:

Heat oil in a large pot. You will only be using this one pot to cook in, so make sure it is large and wide enough to hold all your chicken and the liquid. Arrange the pieces of chicken, skin side down, in the pot and cook till properly browned. Turn over and repeat. 

As a side note, although I kept the skins on all the pieces, the next time I make the recipe I will remove them, at least from half the pieces. This way I will cut out some of the oiliness from the recipe. 

If you have several pieces of chicken, make sure to work in batches. You do not want to over-crowd the pot. Remove browned pieces of chicken and set aside on a plate. Once all the chicken has been browned, drain off the fat from the pot.

Place all the chicken in the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and then lower heat to low. Cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally. 

Remove lid and let simmer till the sauce has reduced and thickened. It should take about 30-40 minutes. Serve with steamed rice. 

The chicken was packed with flavor and it was literally falling off the bone. My husband and I kept saying how awesome it tasted in between bites. It's not a particularly fast recipe to make, but it's easy and has very little ingredients. I'm glad I made so much. We were able to enjoy leftovers all week. 

Happy cooking! 

 

 

 

Comments

[RavieNomNoms]

oooo beautiful chicken! : )

[Joy]

Good Job. Your adobo looks great.

[Out of the Kitchen]

Congratulations on your chicken adobo. I didn't learn how to cook this dish until I was in my 30s -- but ate it at least once a week growing up. My family would also bring adobo on longtrips as it was one of the few dishes we can take that would not spoil in the car. This dish is truly a Filipino staple.

Great post!

[Rachèle]

The chicken looks great!

I've been thinking of taking a knife skills course as well. How did you like it?

R.
akajolie.blogspot.com

[Karina]

Good job on the class dude...would love to learn next time I see you!!! Keep up the good work!

[mummy's kitchen]

I've never eaten this, but it looks delicious, thanks for the recipe I'll have to try it soon.

[torviewtoronto]

delicious lovely pictures

[Thomas Andrew]

I've never made chicken adobo before....but your recipe has inspired me. :-)

[the constant hunger]

I hadn't tried it before I took that class, and let me tell you, it's now become a part of my standard chicken recipes.