Cast Iron Chicken Adobo

This chicken adobo recipe honors the authentic ingredients that go into making this popular Filipino dish. I grew up believing a rule that you aren't allowed to deviate too far from classic Filipino recipes. But Filipino food is meant to be flexible, so call this my take on chicken adobo! Despite the regional variations of chicken adobo, everyone expects a foundational profile of tangy, umami, and meaty flavors. 

Update Disclosure: This post has been updated for one or more of the following reasons: easier reading, updated photos, clearer instructions, and just plain ol' improvements to the recipe (as noted).

Jump to:

• Brief History of Chicken Adobo
• Ingredients
• Specific Items
• Substitutes
• Recipe Tips
• How to Make Cast Iron Chicken Adobo
• How to Eat and Serve
• Chicken Adobo in Cast Iron Recipe
• Have You Tried This Recipe?

During one night of experimentation, I decided to cook chicken adobo in the cast iron instead of a pot then braise the chicken in its own sauce in the oven. The result was tender meat with crispy skin that was devoured in one sitting. I haven't looked back since! Listen, I love stewed soft chicken adobo as much as I love arroz caldo, but the texture of this cast-iron cooking style with the chicken's crispy skin and tender meat feels like I get best of both worlds!

Brief History of Chicken Adobo

As with most Filipino-style dishes, the term adobo came from Spanish influence, borrowed from the word adobar. Adobar means "marinade", a reference made by Spanish colonizers who witnessed Filipinos braising meat in palayok (clay pots). The rest, as they say, is history. Although its name has Spanish roots, chicken adobo is truly a native Filipino recipe.

Nowadays, there are so many variations of Filipino adobo, ranging from the types of spices added to the sauce to the kind of meat used in the recipe. Nevertheless, the two constant featured ingredients in adobo remain the same - soy sauce and vinegar.

Ingredients

Here is a quick review of ingredients for this recipe before your start!

• Chicken Thighs
• Soy Sauce
• White Vinegar
• Sugar
• Garlic Cloves
• Water
• Bay Leaves
• Peppercorns

Specific Items

If you want to do it right the first time, you can look for two particular ingredients at your local Asian grocery store.

• Black Swan Soy Sauce: This is the unofficial national soy sauce brand of the Philippines and will give the most authentic flavor to your dish!
  
  
• Datu Puti Vinegar: There is also an unspoken national brand for vinegar and that would be vinegar from the Datu Puti brand. This vinegar comes from sugar cane and has a milder flavor than most other vinegars.

Substitutes

• Soy Sauce: If you don't have the Black Swan brand, you can use dark soy sauce instead. You may have use less and dilute with water to create a lighter taste similar to Black Swan.
  
  
• Vinegar: The vinegar to use should have a lighter, less sour flavor. Try the following alternatives to replace cane vinegar:
  • White Vinegar
  • Rice Wine Vinegar
  • Malt Vinegar
    
    
• Meat: Chicken is a popular choice for adobo, but pork is just as popular. Opt for fattier cuts if you decide to use pork. You can use a variety of cuts, but the fattier cut the better so it can absorb all those flavors!

Recipe Tips

• Make Rice Before: This goes without saying, but it's easily forgotten! Make sure you have your rice ready before you finish cooking the adobo.
  
  
• Season Your Cast Iron: Check that your cast iron is well-seasoned. Although you are only using a small amount of vinegar for this recipe, make sure that your cast iron is well-seasoned so it doesn't strip. It shouldn't, as the braising time is not that long and the amount of vinegar is minimal.
  
  
• Batch Fry the Chicken: The chicken pieces will shrink as they cook, so I recommend you cook a few at a time to allow them to shrink. Then when the first batch has browned on both sides and no longer sticks to the pan, remove the pieces and place them on a clean plate. Add all the chicken pieces together when you finish batch frying.
  
  
• Play With Ratios: This recipe is a rough guideline. Why? Because Filipino food is meant to be adjusted and adapted to the person's taste and preference. So make it a few times with tweaks here and there to find what you like!

How to Make Cast Iron Chicken Adobo

Here is a summary of how to cook chicken adobo:

1. Marinate the chicken in spices and seasonings.
2. Separate the liquid and set it aside from the chicken.
3. Brown the chicken in the cast iron.
4. Braise the chicken pieces in the marinade sauce in the oven.
5. Crisp the skin by broiling the chicken in the oven.

Making cast iron chicken adobo takes some planning and more involvement than traditional chicken adobo made in a pot. I will also say that good things take time and effort, so this will be worth your while!

How to Eat and Serve

This Filipino-style chicken adobo recipe is not quite complete without rice. Chicken adobo is considered ulam. Ulam is a protein dish that accompanies steamed white rice in Filipino cuisine. So the simplest and most traditional way to eat adobo is next to piping hot steamed white rice.