FILIPINO-STYLE CHICKEN ADOBO (CHICKEN IN TART GARLIC SAUCE)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 10 large garlic cloves, coarse chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh-ground black pepper
- 1¼ cups Filipino palm vinegar, cider vinegar, or white distilled vinegar
- 1 cup whole canned tomatoes with their liquid
- 2 bay leaves, broken
- 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 8; organic if possible)
- Good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions, thin sliced
- 2 whole scallions, thin sliced (optional)
Instructions:
The marinade makes the recipe. You marinate the chicken overnight, turn everything into a pot, and simmer it.
- The day before you will be cooking the chicken, take a large glass or stainless-steel bowl and combine in it the soy sauce, garlic, black pepper, vinegar, tomatoes (break them up with your hands as you add them to the bowl), and bay leaves. Add the chicken, making sure it is almost completely submerged in the marinade. Lightly cover and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.
- When you are ready to cook the chicken, turn the mixture into a heavy 4-quart pot. Bring it to a gentle bubble, cover, and cook for 25 minutes, or until the center of a chicken thigh registers 175°F on an instantreading thermometer.
- With tongs, remove the chicken to a plate. Skim as much fat as possible from the cooking liquid, increase the heat, and start briskly boiling it. You want to reduce it by half.
- While the liquid reduces, film a straight-sided 12- inch sauté pan with the olive oil. Heat it over mediumhigh heat. Arrange the chicken pieces, skin down, in the pan and let them brown (stand back because they will spatter). Adjust the heat so the chicken doesn’t burn.
- When the chicken pieces are a deep, rich brown on one side, turn them over and scatter the onions around them. Continue browning the chicken, moving the onions around so they don’t burn. Then, with a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken and onions to a serving bowl. Pour the boiled-down pan juices over them, and serve. Garnish the adobo with the scallions if you like.