Chicken and Egg Adobo

Dinner | Filipino

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Servings: 2

Chicken adobo is the unofficial national dish of the Philippines, and this version is the one I cook at home after visiting the Phillipines. I learned this version from my mate Abi Marquez. I think it's a great midweek dinner to make and you can easily scale up or down depending on how many you're cooking for.

Chicken Adobo Steps

The braise, in stages

Adobo is a two-stage braise. The chicken goes into a hot pan for a quick sear, then the soy sauce, water, peppercorns, bay and star anise go in. The pan gets covered and simmers gently for 15 minutes with the chicken half-submerged in the liquid. Then the lid comes off, the vinegar and garlic go in, and the sauce reduces uncovered for another 10 minutes. The garlic and vinegar going in late is what keeps their flavour fresh and sharp instead of cooking them into blandness.

Reduce and baste

Adobo sauce should be glossy and slightly syrupy, not soupy. Once the vinegar goes in, keep the pan at a low simmer and let the liquid reduce by about half. As it reduces, spoon the sauce back over the chicken and eggs so they colour up and pick up flavour. Taste before serving. Filipino soy is salty, especially reduced, so start light on the salt at the beginning of the recipe.

Ingredient Notes

Filipino soy sauce: This has a tangier, slightly sweeter flavour than Chinese or Japanese soy sauces, and it’s what gives adobo its distinctive taste. If you can’t find it, a good-quality dark soy sauce will work as a substitute, just check the seasoning as you go because salt levels and thickness vary.

Coconut vinegar: Made from fermented coconut sap, this has a mellow, slightly sweet acidity that plain vinegars don’t have. Find it at Filipino and Asian grocers. If you can’t track any down, white vinegar or apple cider vinegar both work fine as a substitute.

Chicken drumsticks: Drumsticks are affordable and hold up well to the 25-minute braise without drying out. The bone adds flavour to the sauce. You can swap for chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless), or use a whole chicken cut into pieces on the bone. Skip chicken breast for this one, it’ll go dry before the sauce is done.

Equipment

Shallow Dutch oven or heavy-based sauté pan with a lid
Small pot (for the eggs)
Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Fine grater or microplane (for the garlic)
Wooden spoon or spatula
Tongs

Ingredients

5 chicken drum sticks (or chicken thigh)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 star anise
3 bay leaf
20 black peppercorns
150ml (⅔ cup) Filipino soy sauce
300ml (1 ⅕ cup) water
100ml coconut vinegar
1 head garlic, peeled and finely grated
4 eggs
steamed rice to serve

Directions

Soft-boil the eggs
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Gently lower the eggs in and boil for 6 minutes for a jammy yolk. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Peel while still warm and set aside.
Braise the chicken
Pat the drumsticks dry with paper towel and season lightly with sea salt.
Heat a shallow Dutch oven or heavy-based sauté pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and let it heat up.
Add the drumsticks and lightly sear on one side for 2 to 3 minutes until golden. Flip them over, then add the star anise, bay leaves, peppercorns, soy sauce and water. Bring to a simmer.
Turn the heat down to low, cover with the lid and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Reduce and finish
Remove the lid. Add the coconut vinegar and grated garlic. Stir through the sauce.
Simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes on low, allowing the sauce to reduce by about half. As the sauce reduces, spoon it back over the chicken to baste.
When the sauce is thick and glossy, gently add the peeled soft-boiled eggs to the pan. Spoon the sauce over them for 1 to 2 minutes to colour and season them.
Taste the sauce and adjust with more salt only if needed. The reduced soy is already salty.
Divide steamed rice between two bowls. Top with the chicken, halved eggs and a generous spoonful of the sauce.

Recipe notes

Chef Tips

Go light on the salt at the start

Filipino soy sauce is on the salty side and it gets even saltier as the sauce reduces. Season the chicken with just a light pinch of salt at the start, then adjust only at the end after tasting the reduced sauce. Over-salting is very hard to come back from.

Grate the garlic instead of chopping

Fine grating breaks the garlic down into a paste that dissolves into the sauce, distributing the flavour evenly. Chopped garlic ends up in one bite and not the next. Use a microplane or the fine side of a box grater.

Baste as it reduces

Once the lid comes off, spoon the reducing sauce back over the chicken and eggs every couple of minutes. This colours the eggs a rich amber, glazes the chicken, and gets the flavour into every surface in the pan.

Storage

Adobo keeps beautifully in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, and it actually tastes better the next day once the flavours have settled. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. Adobo also freezes well for up to 3 months. This is a great meal-prep recipe, scale up and portion into single-serve containers for the week.

FAQs

What is Filipino adobo? Adobo is a Filipino braise, arguably the country’s national dish. The name comes from the Spanish word for marinade, but the technique predates Spanish colonisation. Traditional adobo relies on vinegar, salt and peppercorns as preservation ingredients. The soy sauce version most people know today came later.

Can I make this without a Dutch oven? Yes. Any heavy-based sauté pan or wide pot with a tight-fitting lid will work. You want enough surface area for the chicken to sit in a single layer with the liquid coming halfway up the sides. A wok with a lid also works if that’s what you have.

Can I use chicken breast? I’d avoid it. Breast dries out during the 25-minute braise. Thighs and drumsticks have enough fat and connective tissue to stay juicy the whole time. If you only have breast, cut the cook time significantly and check the internal temp early.

Can I make it ahead? Yes, adobo is even better the next day. Make it the day before you want to serve it and reheat gently on the stove. The flavours have time to marry overnight, and the sauce thickens as it sits.

Do I have to add the eggs? No, the eggs are optional but brilliant in this dish. They soak up the sauce, colour up amber and give the meal a bit more substance.