"How to Cook Classic chicken Adobo "

 " Classic chicken adobo"

Ask 90 people how they cook chicken adobo and you'll probably get 90 different answers too. The style of your Adobo usually boils down to where you grew up, the ingredients most accessible to you, and the cooking traditions in your place, among others. Personally, I don't think there's any right or wrong way to make it, just as long as the core cooking technique is there, in which the meat is cooked in some kind of acid, which for the most part is vinegar. From here, each household will have their own unique take, adding their own signature styles that make it worthy of being an heirloom dish, or simply just a favorite home-cooked meal.

   

 This chicken adobo was cooked in Kaong Palm Vinegar, known in Cavite as Sukang Irok or Irok Palm Vinegar. Just added 3 knobs or heads (roughly around 30 cloves), slightly pounded them but included the peel. Seasoned with fresh cracked black pepper, salt, patis alamang, and a touch of sugar. Also included a few dried bay leaves. Added about half a cup of water, allowed to boil, then lowered the heat to a very gentle simmer that the cooking liquid has barely any agitation from the surface.

Approximately 40 minutes into the cooking, I removed the chicken pieces and placed them on a cooling rack to dry up a bit. This step significantly helps in browning the meat faster and more efficiently once we sear them up later. I then pan fried each piece in small batches, then deglazed the pan and scraped up all the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. This liquid left from deglazing the pan is then incorporated with the main cooking liquid and allowed to simmer under low flame until reduced to the desired consistency. If you want adobo with lots of sauce then you usually stop here. If you want a deeper-flavored version, you allow the sauce to reduce until its a thick sauce consistency. It's also your choice if you want to let the chicken remain in the sauce while reducing it further.

Want a better-tasting adobo? Restrain yourself from eating it the day (or night) it was cooked and allow all the flavors and seasonings to further develop and meld into one spectacular marriage. Adobo becomes the adobo it should be on the 2nd or even the 3rd day after it was cooked.