CHICKEN ADOBO

If there's gonna be a national dish of the Philippines this would be it. Each and every filipino household has it's own version of this dish that it's very rare for a true-blue pinoy to not have eaten adobo in his entire life. Adobo is distinctly pinoy yet it is very diverse and flexible especially when it comes to ingredients. Generally speaking adobo in it's basic form is meat stewed in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic. Almost any kind of meat can be made into adobo: pork, chicken, beef, goat, duck, squid, fish, oyster, frog, etc. etc. There's even vegetable variations of adobo like adobong kangkong (water spinach) and adobong sitaw (string beans). Some adobo recipes omit the soy sauce, some have coconut milk, some with annatto, some has onion, some with ginger, some with mashed chicken liver or liver spread, some use tomatoes, some includes boiled eggs and some even add shrimp paste. Adobo can be cooked soupy or almost dry. Recently there's even sizzling, baked and ala steak. Whatever your preference is nobody can deny that adobo is one of the ultimate filipino comfort food that spells home.

This adobo I'm gonna share with you is actually my hubby's recipe. He's not that adept in the kitchen but admittedly he cooks a killer adobo superior to mine.

What's In It:

2 lbs. chicken (preferably dark meat), cut into serving pieces
5-6 whole cloves of garlic
8-10 black peppercorn
1 c. vinegar
1 c. soy sauce
2-3 pieces of bay leaf

How It's Done:
1. Mix vinegar and soy sauce in a bowl. Adjust according to taste.
2. Place chicken in a flat wide-bottom pan or pot. Arrange the chicken pieces in such that they form a single layer.
3. Pour the soy-vinegar mixture over the chicken pieces. Add in the remaining ingredients.
4. Cook over medium heat. Refrain from stirring for the first 10-15 minutes.
5. You may need to turn the chicken pieces on it's other side to make sure the soy-vinegar gets all through out the chicken.
6. Continue simmering until sauce thickens.

A real adobo connoisseur knows that this dish is best eaten the following day or a few days after.