Chicken Adobo

Spanish adobo made with vinegar, spices, and pears

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City/Region: Spain | Philippines

Time Period: 1529

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Dishes made of meat marinated in vinegar were created completely independently of each other in Spain and in the Philippines, but the cuisines and adobos would influence each other for centuries after Magellan landed in the Philippines in 1521.

There are a lot of versions of adobo out there, and it’s generally accepted that your mother’s adobo is the best one. This is very likely not your mother’s adobo, as the spices and the method of thickening with bread is very medieval. The vinegar is present but not harsh, the meat is so tender that it falls off the bone, and the sweetness and spices add medieval flair.

“Potaje de Adobado de Gallina que se dice Janette de gallinas
Take a hen and cut it up into portions; take good fatty bacon, and gently fry it with a little onion. Then gently fry the cut-up hen with it. And take toasted almonds, grind them, and mix with quinces or pears conserved in honey; and take the livers of hens, and roast them on the coals. And when they are roasted, put them in the mortar with the almonds, and grind everything together; and then take a piece of crustless bread toasted and soaked in white vinegar, grind it in the mortar with the other things. And when it is well-ground, mix it with salted hen’s broth; and strain it through a sieve; and cast it in a pot; and cast the hen in also; and cast in all fine spices, and a good quantity of sugar. This sauce must be a little bit sour. And when the sauce is cooked, cast in a little finely chopped parsley, and prepare your dishes, and then upon them sugar and cinnamon.”

— El Libro de Cocina by Ruperto de Nola, 1529

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Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb (120 g) fatty European style bacon, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 to 4 lbs (1.5 kg) skin-on bone-in chicken
• 3 chicken livers
• 1 large, very thick slice of bread, crust removed and lightly toasted
• 1 cup (235 ml) white wine vinegar
• 1 cup toasted almonds
• 2 pears or quinces preserved in honey or syrup
• 1 quart (1 L) salted chicken broth
• 3 to 4 teaspoons fine spices*
• 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley
• Cinnamon and sugar, to garnish

*See notes below.

Instructions:

1. Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat renders out.
2. Add the chopped onion. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they become translucent.
3. Add the chicken and cook it until each piece is lightly browned. Take the chicken out and set it aside.
4. In a separate pan, heat a bit of oil or fat over medium heat. Cook the chicken livers for about 3 minutes on each side.
5. In a large bowl, pour the vinegar over the slice of bread. You want the bread to soak up as much of the vinegar as possible.
6. Grind the almonds until they’re a powder. You can do this in a mortar and pestle, but we’re going to be grinding pears and livers in the next step, so I suggest you use a food processor if you have one.
7. Add the pears to the food processor and blend them. Take the livers off the stove and blend them as well.
8. Take the bread out of the vinegar, add it to the food processor, and blend yet again. Save any leftover vinegar that the bread didn’t soak up because you might need it later.
9. Add the chicken broth and blend until it’s all combined.
10. Put a fine mesh sieve over a large pot and slowly pour the sauce through it. Use a spoon to stir it around until all the liquid passes through. Throw out any dregs that remain.
11. Add the spices and sugar to the sauce. Stir everything together. Taste to see if it’s sour. If it’s not, add in the rest of the vinegar reserved from soaking the bread.
12. Add the chicken and onions to the pot, then bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the chicken is nice and tender.
13. After the adobo has simmered, stir in the parsley and let it cook for another minute or two.
14. Serve it forth with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar.

Notes

• The recipe isn’t specific, but fine spices in Spain at the time would have been things like galangal, grains of paradise, clove, nutmeg, and long pepper. I use a little bit of all of those.
• Galangal is related to ginger, but has a sharp citrusy, piney flavor. It's used in a lot of Southeastern Asian cuisines like Thai and Vietnamese.
• Grains of paradise have a complex flavor that is peppery with hints of citrus, ginger, and cardamom.
• Long pepper is hotter than black pepper and has a more aromatic, almost flowery quality to it that's wonderful.
• Link to galangal: https://amzn.to/47FeKue
• Link to grains of paradise: https://amzn.to/40Rd66L
• Link to long pepper: https://amzn.to/3ui5j5L

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