Browned bone-in chicken pieces, including drumsticks, braised in a dark glossy sauce with bay leaves in a glass baking dish. — Photo: dbgg1979 on flickr · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Southeast Asian · Lunch · Dinner

Chicken Adobo

Name: Chicken Adobo
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 70 min
Cuisine: Southeast Asian
Ingredients: 1 cup brown rice; 2 cups water for rice; 700 g (about 8 thighs) boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat; 1 tsp canola oil; 1 head (about 10 cloves) garlic, smashed and peeled; 1 medium onion, sliced; 1/2 cup cane or white vinegar; 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce; 3/4 cup water for braising; 3 dried bay leaves; 1 tsp whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed; 1 tsp brown sugar; 3 cups green beans, trimmed and halved; 2 stalks spring onions, sliced

Adobong Manok

By BerryFit Kitchen · Nutrition checked with USDA data · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · How we make recipes

Tender chicken thighs braised in a tangy, garlicky sauce of vinegar, soy and bay leaf, cooked down until glossy. Green beans simmer in the same pot, and it is served over nutty brown rice for a lighter take on a Filipino favourite.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 55 min
Total: 70 min
Serves: 4

Easy
Dairy Free
High protein

24%

Per serving472kcal24% of a 2,000 kcal day

42gProtein

51gCarbs

10gFat

5gFiber

Calories come from: Carbs 44% · Fat 20% · Protein 36%

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Ingredients

For 4 servings

1 cup200 gbrown rice
2 cups480 gwater for rice
700 g (about 8 thighs)boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat
1 tsp5 gcanola oil
1 head (about 10 cloves)40 ggarlic, smashed and peeled
1 medium110 gonion, sliced
1/2 cup120 gcane or white vinegar
1/4 cup64 greduced-sodium soy sauce
3/4 cup180 gwater for braising
3 driedbay leaves
1 tspwhole black peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 tspbrown sugar (optional)
3 cups300 ggreen beans, trimmed and halved
2 stalks15 gspring onions, sliced

Steps

1
Rinse the brown rice in a sieve until the water runs clear.
2
Put the rice and 2 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
3
Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer for 40-45 minutes until the water is absorbed.
4
Take the rice off the heat and leave it covered to steam for 10 minutes.
5
While the rice cooks, pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towel.
6
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium-high heat.
7
Brown the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side, then move it to a plate.
8
Lower the heat to medium, add the garlic and onion and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden.
9
Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the vinegar, soy sauce and braising water.
10
Add the bay leaves, crushed peppercorns and brown sugar, if using.
11
Bring to a boil and let it bubble for 2 minutes without stirring to mellow the vinegar.
12
Cover, reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes, turning the chicken once.
13
Uncover, add the green beans and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
14
Check the thickest piece of chicken reaches 74 °C / 165 °F inside.
15
Remove the bay leaves, spoon the chicken, beans and sauce over the brown rice and scatter with spring onions.

Swaps, storage and make-ahead

Swaps

Use bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces like those in the photo for a richer, more traditional adobo, adding about 10-15 minutes to the braise and checking they reach 74 °C / 165 °F.
For a gluten-free version, swap the soy sauce for a tamari labelled gluten-free, and check your vinegar is labelled gluten-free too.
Replace the brown rice with white jasmine rice for a softer, quicker side that cooks in about 15-18 minutes.
Leave out the brown sugar or use a little honey instead if that is what you have on hand.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating the chicken and sauce until steaming hot. The chicken and sauce freeze well for up to 3 months, but the green beans soften on thawing, and cooked rice is best chilled quickly and eaten within a day or two rather than frozen.

Make ahead

Adobo tastes even better the next day, so you can braise the chicken a day ahead, chill it and reheat it gently, adding the green beans fresh while it simmers. The garlic and onion can also be prepped and the beans trimmed up to a day in advance and kept covered in the fridge.

Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.

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Allergens and nutrition

Contains: GlutenSoy

Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.

Full nutrition

	Per serving (554 g)	Per 100 g
Calories	472 kcal	85 kcal
Protein	42.2 g	7.6 g
Carbohydrates	51 g	9.2 g
of which sugars	4.2 g	0.8 g
Fiber	4.9 g	0.9 g
Fat	10.3 g	1.9 g
of which saturated	2.4 g	0.4 g
Sodium	760 mg	137 mg

Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.