CrockPot Chicken Adobo Recipe

Day 330.

I actually just got a pang of something weird when I typed that number in. 35 (36) days left in the year? Really? That's it? I actually feel really sad about that (today. tomorrow, I might decide to spend the afternoon jumping on the bed.)

Thank you so much for the wonderful birthday wishes, and for the great comments directed towards Adam. He read every one of them. Probably thrice. I've got a lot of scheming to do before his birthday, but it looks like he's going to be spending it with a thousand women for BlogHer.... that's a good gift, right?

I've never made Chicken Adobo before. My grandma read me this recipe over the phone out of a xeroxed booklet of International Food put out by my first grade class. We all really liked the chicken a lot, and have a bunch saved in the freezer for future soups. Thank you, grandma, for keeping the booklet!

The Ingredients.

--3 to 5 pounds of chicken meat (I used a whole chicken. Next time I will use boneless pieces.)
--1/4 cup soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat free are gluten free)
--4 cloves garlic, chopped
--1 tsp black pepper
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (can use regular white)
--4 bay leaves
--1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
--1 yellow onion, sliced in rings

The Directions.

If you have the time to assemble the chicken in a plastic zipper bag with the salt, pepper, soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar the night before, do so. The chicken will be much more flavorful if left to marinate overnight. Then dump out in the morning on top of the vegetables.

I used a 6.5 quart crockpot. If you use 3 pounds of chicken, everything will fit in a 4 quart or larger.

I had a 5 pound chicken. I did skin it, and I am certainly getting better at skinning chickens.

Rub the chicken with salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. If using a whole chicken, shove 2 bay leaves inside. Set aside.

Slice the onion in rings and place the rings at the bottom of the crockpot. Add in the shredded carrot---I used the bagged shredded carrot to save time. Put the chicken on top. Pour in the soy sauce and vinegar.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 4-5. This is done when the chicken is cooked through and has reached desired tenderness.

I cooked our whole chicken on high for exactly 4 hours. It was fully cooked, but completely fell apart. The vinegar is such a tenderizer that I wouldn't attempt this again with bone-in chicken--the bones freak me out with the kids.

The Verdict.

Delicious. This results in very flavorful and moist chicken. There is a lot of juice, and we served it over basmati rice. The kids each ate a plateful. When I make it again, I might put in some shredded cabbage---Adam and I both really liked the pickled vegetables an awful lot.


other great chicken recipes:

Vietnamese Chicken
Brown Sugar Chicken
Rotisserie-style chicken
Lemon and Herb Chicken
Whole Chicken with Salad Dressing