Chicken adobo

About the dish

Adobo is often called the unofficial national dish of the Philippines. The name comes from the Spanish adobar, to marinate, but cooking meat in vinegar and salt to keep it is an older, Indigenous practice that the Spanish named rather than brought.

Chicken pieces, often with pork, are braised in vinegar, soy sauce, plenty of crushed garlic, bay leaves and whole black peppercorns until tender. Cane or coconut vinegar is traditional. A common tip is to let the vinegar come to a boil and cook for a few minutes before stirring, which softens its sharp edge. Many cooks finish by browning the braised chicken in a little oil, or by reducing the sauce until it coats the meat.

The flavor is sour and salty first, with savory depth from the soy and the meat and a mellow sweetness from the long-cooked garlic. The vinegar also helps it keep, and adobo is widely held to taste better the next day. There are many versions: adobong puti leaves out the soy, and some cooks add coconut milk. It is eaten with rice.

Written from general cooking knowledge, as background on a dish from the game’s recipe book. It is not a tested recipe.

The flavors it leans on

• Sour
• Salt
• Savory