What is Adobo Chicken?

A dish and cooking process native to the Philippines, adobo refers to

the method of marinating meat, seafood, or vegetables (pretty much
anything!) in a combination of soy sauce and vinegar. This marinade
also includes other herbs and flavorings like garlic, bay leaves, and
whole peppercorns.
Cooking with vinegar and soy sauce
Cooking food in vinegar is no foreign concept to us Filipinos. In pre-
colonial times, our ancestors used to cook seafood in vinegar in order
to preserve their freshness. Many regard adobo as a spin on kinilaw,
which is another traditional cooking method. Kinilaw refers mainly to
cooking raw seafood in vinegar and spices. Another similar process is
paksiw, which utilizes meat broth in vinegar and spices.
What really sets adobo apart is the presence of soy sauce in its
marinade. While vinegar has a pungent aroma and a very distinctly
sour taste, soy sauce is on both the sweeter and saltier side. A staple in
any Asian household, soy sauce (or toyo) definitely helps in bringing
out chicken adobo’s savory taste.
(Here’s a fun fact: did you know that there are different kinds of soy
sauce? In Japan especially, there are five different kinds of soy sauce
that each have their own unique flavors and uses. The most common
one you’ll find in markets is dark soy sauce, or koikuchi. With a deeper
color than most other types, dark soy sauce is packed with flavor ––
perfect for your chicken adobo!)
Adobo also contains dry bay leaves in its recipe. Although you aren’t
to eat them whole, bay leaves lend their subtle, deep flavors to this
umami dish. It may not be the star of the show, but your chicken
adobo wouldn’t be complete without it.
 Where did it originate?
The famous Chicken Adobo originated in the Philippines. The dish is
prepared using the Inadobo style of cooking. It means cooking meat
or seafood with vinegar and mostly soy sauce. It is a popular method
during the olden days when refrigerators and freezers were not yet
available because vinegar helps extend the shelf life of food. Another
popular variation is pork adobo using pork belly,

How to Cook Chicken Adobo

Cooking Chicken Adobo is quick and simple. This recipe suggests
marinating the chicken to make it more flavorful. It is the best way to
go if you want to experience authentic Filipino chicken adobo. If you
are in a hurry, feel free to skip this step, but make sure to simmer the
chicken longer than 30 minutes to better extract the flavors from it.

Marinate the chicken

Start by marinating the chicken in soy sauce and garlic. The garlic
needs to be crushed for best results. This process takes 1 hour to 12
hours depending on how flavorful you want the dish to be. Sometimes
marinating for an hour is not enough. I think that 3 hours is optimal.
The chicken absorbs most of the flavors from the soy sauce and garlic
during this step. It is noticeable when you taste the dish after cooking.
Note that it is also possible to include the vinegar in this step.