It could be interesting to know how many versions of Filipino adobo exist currently.  There are only a few ingredients used in adobo but there are countless twists and turns that you can do with it.  I don’t wonder why many Pinoys brag about their own rendition of this dish.

I have tried many variations of adobo and I have my favorites.  One of them is this dish where the chicken is cooked the usual adobo way, drained, coated with flour and then deep fried.  Winner! Adobo na, crispy fried chicken pa! But the adobo dip that is made out of the left-over adobo sauce and mayonnaise makes this dish screams louder. Sarap!

How about you? What’s your favorite version of adobo?

Ingredients:

Marinade:

  • 3 pounds chicken thighs
  • 1 cup rice vinegar
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • 1 head garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 2 bay leaves

Frying:

  • ½ cup flour
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • ½ cup vegetable oil

Dip:

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup adobo suace
  • 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Directions:

Marinade the chicken with the adobo ingredients and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

Cook the chicken with the marinade. Bring to a boil on medium high heat and then lower then heat to medium.  Cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.  Prick with a paring knife to check that no blood oozes out of the meat.

Drain the meat and save the sauce for the dip later.  Make an assembly line: beat the eggs in a bowl and mix the cornstarch, flour, salt and pepper in a separate plate. Dip each meat in the egg and then coat all sides with the flour mix.

In a deep medium sauce pan, put the oil on medium high heat.  Make sure the oil is really hot before dropping off the coated chicken. Adjust the heat to medium if it smokes a lot. Put the cooked fried chicken on a kitchen paper towel to drain the excess oil.

Make the dip:  Mix the adobo sauce, mayonnaise, garlic and fresh parsley thoroughly.  Season with salt and pepper. Serve this with your fabulously fried chicken adobo.

This recipe is adapted from Fine Filipino Food cookbook by Karen Bartell.