Filipino Adobo Chicken

If you're a regular reader here, you've likely seen the term "adobo" used by me several times, often, but not always, about Latino recipes. Filipino adobo does not have the same meaning as in "New World" cooking terminology. In some Latino cultures it is a dry kind of seasoning or seasoned salt, while in other Latino cultures it is a mixture of chilies, spices and a liquid component. In the Philippines it refers to a way of cooking by using a marinade for meat or seafood. The Spaniards, who colonized the Philippines from the 1500s until 1898, applied the name "adobo" to the cooking style already present in the Philippines, with the idea of marinating being the common connection to Latino cultures, where both liquid or dry seasonings are used to flavor and tenderize meat by marinating, but where the marinating product was given the name "adobo," not the preparation process.

You won't need salt, because the soy sauce has plenty. You can see, if you like a little heat, add a chili pepper or some cayenne. Chili peppers can vary in the level of heat, even the same kind of chilies. One jalapeño may be mouth-scorching, while the next may be so mild as to be similar to a bell pepper, so sample them and proceed accordingly. When I first made this dish, I used half of a fresh cayenne pepper, but it didn't even move the needle, so I added the other half, but it also didn't supply much punch, which goes to show how mild some "hot" chilies can be actually be, regardless of their name and reputation.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds chicken thighs or whole legs
8 to 10 black peppercorns, cracked a little to release flavor
1/3 cup white or rice vinegar
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2/3 cup water
(optional) 1 finely chopped jalapeño or serrano chili, or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
(optional) cornstarch and water

In a large bowl or non reactive pot, place the chicken thighs, the peppercorns, the vinegar, the garlic, the soy sauce, the brown sugar, the chili pepper or cayenne and the bay leaves. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours. Turn the chicken at least once, preferably a couple of times, while marinating. Heat the oven to 350 (F). Remove the dish and marinade from the refrigerator and place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Bake in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, depending upon the size of the chicken thighs, until the skin is somewhat firmed up. Meanwhile, add the water to the marinade and then bring to a boil over medium high heat on the stove top, then reduce heat so that the marinade/sauce simmers very lightly for about 10 to 12 minutes, uncovered, until sauce is reduced, OR, mix some cornstarch and water together very well. Keeping the sauce simmering, gradually add the cornstarch to the sauce, stirring constantly, until you reach the desired thickness of the sauce. (Optional) If you want the chicken to be well coated with sauce (photo #2), after the sauce reaches the desired thickness, put the fresh from the oven chicken thighs into the pan and turn to coat. Cook for just a minute. Serve with rice.

Just with some sauce spooned over, or in the second photo, chicken coated in sauce

WORD HISTORY:
Soy-This word goes back to transliterated Chinese "tshi-yew," which meant "soy bean oil." This was borrowed into Japanese as transliterated "shoyu" and early Dutch traders to Japan took the word as "soja," which was borrowed by English in the last quarter of the 1600s, as "soya/soy." When I was a kid, it seems to me I heard "soya" used a lot in reference to the beans, but "soy" used for the famous sauce.