Peas on the Plate

This was the vibe in New York last week as everyone struggled through the heat wave. If someone had attempted to rob me, I cannot guarantee my reaction would be any different. That means I’ve formally launched into kitchen appliance season, where I desperately attempt to keep my kitchen under 100 degrees while making an acceptable dinner.

I saw a burrito bowl version of this recipe in an Instant Pot recipe book I picked up at a yard sale. This is confusing because I did some more research on chicken adobo and found that this recipe is actually a riff on the Filipino adobo. Though there is a Mexican variety, it’s completely different. It’s basically the unofficial dish of the Phillippines and laden with intricacies and changes from family to family.

At least on the surface, the sauce seems consistent across the board: soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper. Where it diverges seems to be…everywhere else. Some families add coconut milk, many use a specific type of white vinegar called cane vinegar that has a higher sugar content, and recipes vary somewhere between coming out more like a broth or having a thicker sauce like a gravy depending on preference.

This recipe is flavorful, but the sauce definitely leans more towards a broth – it’s thickened now that it’s been in the fridge a couple days, but the first run required a ladle.

How Instant Pot Chicken Adobo is Different

The Instant Pot commits the mortal sin of removing the marinating time and a few other steps that are critical for a more nuanced flavor. Where a standard adobo marinates for hours, I threw frozen chicken thighs into this with all the ingredients and a shockingly small amount of time later, I had a tasty meal ready. And my kitchen was still really hot, but that’s only because it was hot in my house, not because I had a box of fire spewing an extra 300 degrees into the air.

Adobo is usually served over rice. I did that as part of the burrito bowl setup suggestion from the cookbook I was following, serving it with guacamole, salsa, and black beans. It was good but confusing, considering the sauce uses ingredients quintessential to Asian flavor profiles. This dish will absolutely hold its own when served over regular or or garlic rice.

I want to try authentic Filipino chicken adobo, but given the level of effort required for it, I’ll be going to a restaurant to get it – because the best part of New York residency is the fact that you’re pretty much always on a food tour.

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Instant Pot Chicken Adobo

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Quick, flavorful and chicken adobo-adjacent, this will hit the spot if you're looking for a low-effort but delicious chicken dish, even if you forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 C white wine vinegar
• 1/4 C soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl or measuring cup and set aside.
2. Spread half of the sliced onion in an even layer on the bottom of the Instant Pot.
3. Top with ginger and garlic, distributing evenly.
4. Arrange the chicken in a single layer over the onions.
5. Sprinkle with 1/4 TSP Kosher salt and 1 TSP black pepper.
6. Cover the chicken with the remaining onions.
7. Pour the vinegar mixture evenly over the chicken.
8. Lock the Instant Pot lid in place and turn the valve to Sealing.
9. Set the Pressure Cook setting to High and cook time for 15 minutes.
10. Once the timer is up, let the steam release naturally for at least 15 minutes before turning the valve to Venting to quick-release any remaining steam.
11. Transfer the chicken to a plate and shred.
12. Serve over rice and top with the sauce left in the pot.

Notes

– COOK TIME WILL VARY – since the chicken I used was frozen, it took a little bit of time to come up to the correct pressure, which is probably why the cooking, all told including venting time, took 40 minutes. It might be shorter than this for chicken that's thawed already.

– When I made this, the recipe recommended a burrito-bowl type setup with beans, avocado, salsa, etc. I found it works best just served over plain or garlic rice.