Garlic Chicken (or Pork) With Soy (Chicken or Pork Adobo)

      Filipino Style Adobo

Adobo is a common Filipino food originated from Spain and it is widely adopted in Latin America and some of Spain's colonised countries like the Philippines and Portugal.  Its basic ingredients are lots of garlic, soy sauce and vinegar and has to be marinated for at least half  an hour to an hour to get a  good flavor.  The Filipinos have several versions of this dish, but because its so simple and so easy to prepare, you can have delectable dish with minimal preparation time.  I love my mother's version of Adobo. Although I have made my own twist to it to incorporate whatever healthy and available ingredients I have in the kitchen.  My husband even learned to cook this dish as he finds it easy to cook. He also likes it as it is very yummy. Whether you use chicken or pork or even both, the dish is so perfect to be eaten on top of a steamed rice or fried rice.  

Adobo according to Wikipedia, was employed initially as a method of food preservation, but recently with the advent of refrigeration, it became a good method to give flavoring to the food. The other versions of Adobo included the addition of oregano and paprika, but my home-made recipe uses only a few ingredients.  Here it is:

Ingredients:

1 Kg chicken or pork

1/2 Cup of Soy sauce

2 tbsp garlic, minced

4 bay leaves

1/3 cup vinegar

1/4 cup cane sugar (or honey)

1 tbsp pepper

Method:

Combine all the ingredients except the chicken in a large bowl.

Add the chicken and stir to coat.

Marinate for at least 30 minutes. 

Transfer the chicken mixture into a deep sauce pan.

Bring to boil at high heat. Let it simmer for 5 minutes then reduce the heat and let it simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir the chicken occasionally.

Reduce the sauce to taste and preference (The more the sauce is reduced, the stronger the taste becomes).