Easy Chicken Adobo Recipe (made in your Ninja Foodi)
This dish is so easy to make, but the results are amazing! Chicken with intese flavor and so tender it falls off the bone. Usually served over rice, this is considered one of the national dishes of the Philippines.
Equipment
- 1 Ninja Foodi or any pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1 ½ cups coconut milk
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 bay leaves
- 3-4 scallions, green parts thinly sliced and separated from the white
- Your favorite rice, for serving
Instructions
- Toss the chicken pieces with the soy sauce in a large bowl. Refrigerate for at least an hour, but up to overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the soy sauce and let the excess drip back into the bowl.
- Set the Ninja Foodi to the high sear/sauté function.
- Add the chicken pieces to the inner pot, skin side down. Sear on high sear/sauté until the skin is golden brown on all sides. You will have to do this in batches. You don't want to over crowd the pan. Once the chicken has browned set it aside.
- While the chicken is browning, whisk 1 ½ cups coconut milk, ½ cup cider vinegar, 2 tablespoon brown sugar, and peppercorns into the soy sauce.
- Use a sharp knife to separate the white parts of the scallions from the green. Slice the white part in half long ways and thinly slice the green parts for garnish.
- Pour the soy sauce-coconut milk mixture into the inner pot. Add the white parts of the scallions and the 3 bay leaves. Nestle the chicken pieces into the sauce.
- Put the pressure lid on. Turn the valve to seal and set the pressure on high for 10 minutes. Natural release for 5 minutes and then manually release the remaining pressure.
- Carefully transfer the chicken pieces to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm while you are finishing the sauce.
- Fish out the bay leaves. Set the Ninja Foodi to the high sear/sauté function. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until it has reduced and thickened as much as you would like.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. If you feel like the flavor is too intense, you can add a few tablespoon of water or a bit more sugar to mellow it out.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with the sliced green parts of the scallions. Serve with rice to soak up all of the amazing flavors from the sauce.
Notes
Chicken Adobo for Two
This scaled-down version of Chicken Adobo is perfect for couples or anyone cooking in a small space. You can keep it super simple and grab a small pack of bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks at the store—or do what I do: buy a whole chicken and break it down yourself. That way, you can use just the number of pieces you need for dinner (in this case, two thighs and two drumsticks) and save the rest for another meal. I usually toss the backbone right into my Ninja Foodi to make a quick batch of homemade stock. If you're curious about breaking down a whole chicken and why it's worth the effort, here's my guide that walks you through it step-by-step. Ingredients:- 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 bone-in, skin-on drumsticks
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 scallions, green and white parts separated
- Your favorite rice, for serving
- In a medium bowl, toss the chicken pieces with the soy sauce. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight if you have the time.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip back into the bowl—don’t discard the soy sauce.
- Set the Ninja Foodi to high sear/sauté. Sear the chicken, skin side down, until golden on all sides. Do this in batches if needed. Set the browned chicken aside.
- While the chicken browns, whisk the coconut milk, vinegar, brown sugar, and peppercorns into the reserved soy sauce.
- Thinly slice the white part of the scallion lengthwise. Set the green part aside for garnish.
- Pour the sauce into the inner pot. Add the sliced scallion whites, garlic cloves, and bay leaf. Nestle the chicken into the sauce.
- Lock on the pressure lid. Turn the valve to seal and set to high pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover loosely with foil.
- Discard the bay leaf. Set the Foodi to high sear/sauté again and simmer the sauce until it thickens to your liking. Taste and adjust with a little water or sugar if the flavor is too strong.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken, garnish with scallion greens, and serve with rice.