Chicken Adobo - Filipino Style

Marinating overnight helps the already juicy chicken thighs pick up the tang of the vinegar and pepper.

• Ready In: 24 hrs 45 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup soy sauce
• 10  large garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 1⁄2-1  tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1  cup  filipino palm vinegar or 1  cup cider vinegar or 1  cup white vinegar
• 1  cup  diced canned tomatoes with their  liquid
• 2  bay leaves, broken
• 3  lbs  bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 8)
• 1  pinch brown sugar (optional)
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 2  medium onions, chopped
•  green onion, thinly sliced for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. The day before cooking the chicken, in a large glass bowl combine in it the soy sauce, garlic, black pepper, vinegar, tomatoes and bay leaves. Add the chicken, making sure it is almost completely submerged in the marinade. (An alternate method would be to pour the marinade mixture in a ziplock bag then add the chicken pieces, squeezing out the air). Lightly cover and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours.
2. When ready to cook, turn the entire mixture into a heavy 4-quart pot. Bring to a gentle bubble, cover and cook 25 minutes or until the center of a chicken thigh is heated to 175 degrees on an instant-reading thermometer.
3. With tongs, remove the chicken to a plate. Skim as much fat as possible from the cooking liquid and simmer down by half (skimming fat if possible) adding a pinch of sugar and salt, if desired. Meanwhile, coat a 12-inch straight-sided saute pan with the olive oil. Heat over medium-high. Arrange the chicken pieces skin down to brown, adjusting the heat so chicken as not to burn.
4. When they are a deep rich brown on one side, turn the pieces and scatter the onion around them. Brown, adjust the heat, moving the onions around so pieces don't burn. Then, with a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken and onions to a serving bowl. Pour the boiled-down pan juices over them and serve. Garnish the adobo with a scattering of thinly sliced green onions.