Chicken Adobo (Chinese Style)
This sweet-salty, vinegar-free Chinese Chicken Adobo version is so yummy that you’ll be mopping up all that sauce on your plate!
If there is a dish that defines Filipino cuisine – it’s adobo, the unofficial national dish of the Philippine islands. There are as many versions of adobo as there are many islands in the Philippines.
Perhaps not as many as 7,107 islands (the whole Philippine archipelago), but ask each Filipino family, and each will tell you their own adobo recipe, handed down from one generation to another, differentiated not so much by the kind of ingredients they use but more by the style or technique they use in cooking the dish.
Adobo always has meat—that’s the star of the dish. The meat can be chicken, pork, or a combination of both.
While the name is of Spanish origin and is similar in some ways to the Latin/Hispanic “adobo” in the sense that meat is steeped in or immersed in a sauce and cooked in it, adobo in the Philippines refers mainly to the dish (as in Pork adobo) rather than a cooking technique.
Typically, adobo is cooked in a soy and vinegar sauce with bay leaves, lots of garlic, black peppercorns (whole or crushed), and maybe sweetened with a bit of sugar or pineapple juice or syrup. Because of the long and slow cooking, the meat absorbs the delicious flavor of the sauce and is so good paired with rice.
Normally, we cook a lot of adobo, so we have leftovers that can be reheated day after day. The longer the adobo stands (in the fridge, of course, though in the olden times, it’s the vinegar that served as its preservative), the better the taste.
When you have some left-overs (if you ever have some ’cause you may want to eat it all in one sitting—so more-ish!), serve them with fried rice and some fried eggs, and you have a classic Pinoy breakfast: AD-SI-LOG—short name for Adobo (this dish), Sinangag (Fried Rice), and Itlog (Fried Eggs). Yum!
For this particular version, I depart from the usual Adobo. Here, I am making an adobo without vinegar—Chinese style. I am deeply indebted to my friend Rebecca, who graciously shared with me the ingredients she used and how to make it.
After I tasted the adobo she brought in one of our Filipino parties, I just had to get her recipe. It’s so good you won’t even miss the vinegar!
What I particularly love about this adobo is the addition of mushrooms. I have seen adobo with pineapple rings but never one with mushrooms and this gives the adobo even more depth in flavor and adds a lot in texture.
I have tried many kinds of mushrooms—both dried and fresh shiitake, enoki, mini-portobellos, and the common white button mushrooms. Any of them are great for this dish, but the best for me are the fresh shiitake because they are so meaty and fully absorb the flavor.
If using dried shitakes, remember to rehydrate them first before using them and keep the liquid used in rehydrating them. You can add that to the sauce for an even better flavor (if that is even possible with this already yummy sauce!).
So here goes the yummiest and easiest Chicken Adobo ever!
Cook’s Notes:
If using fresh Shiitake (4oz) – clean them quickly under running water or wipe the tops clean. Cut of the stem (can’t eat them too chewy!) and then slice.
If using dry Shiitake (2 oz) – reconstitute/rehydrate the mushrooms in warm water for about 20 mins or until tender. Reserve the water. Just strain it first if necessary. Add it as needed. This liquid is so full of flavor so don’t throw it away especially if you like a more liquidy adobo.
Chicken Adobo (Chinese Style)
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken pieces, (about 5 drumsticks and 5 thighs)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, (I use Kikkoman brand)
- 1 ½ tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 8 cloves garlic (a small head of garlic may be used), minced or crushed or chopped
- ½ tbsp whole black peppercorns (or freshly ground), adjust to taste
- 3 bay leaves
- 8 oz fresh mini-bella/portobello mushrooms or 4 oz fresh shiitake or 1-2 oz dry shiitake
- a few drops of sesame oil (very essential!)
Instructions
- In a deep pan or a Dutch oven, mix the soy and oyster sauces, sugar, garlic and ground or whole peppercorns. Add the chicken pieces and coat the with the sauce. Insert the bay leaves. Don’t worry if it seems dry at this point, it will produce some liquid as you cook it.
- Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low until chicken is tender, about 50 minutes to an hour or so.
- When the chicken is already tender, add in the mushrooms. Continue to simmer until the mushrooms are cooked and tender about 5-8 minutes.
- Add a few drops of sesame oil, to taste. Give a quick stir. Serve hot with rice.
- As with any Adobo version, though it’s great the first day, it’s even better the next day as the meat would have absorbed the flavor of the sauce more.
Notes
Last updated on August 24th, 2024 at 07:13 pm
Oh yum! This looks delicious. In my husband's family there are two kinds of adobo, oily and not, lol and both very tasty. I love the idea of adding mushrooms. Thanks for sharing.
Hope you can try this Amber and love it as much as we do. And I personally do not mind the oil as long as it tastes good. 🙂
G'day This looks delicious Abby! YUM!
I could go for some right now…
pinning, sharing via BBB on FB, Google+ today…sharing the love!
Cheers! Joanne
You are so very sweet to do that Joanne! <3 Thank you so much.
No vinegar?
None at all but it's so delicious you won't miss it! 🙂
Growing up in a Filipino American family, I grew to love and cherish chicken adobo. It was the first dish I ever made for my husband and he quickly fell in love. My three kids also love this traditional dish. I'm not sure how it could be the same without vinegar. It's like the best part for me.
I suggest that you try this Chinese-style version Lisa. It is equally delish and I do have the classic Pinoy adobo as well (in fact I have 3 adobo versions here this is just the vinegar-free version). So glad to meet you and thanks for stopping by. 🙂
My family would love this!
I prefer to keep the oil content down too, so skinless it is for me…Thank you again for this sensational recipe xoxo
This is an interesting twist!
I can't wait to try this! It has my name all over it!
We go through tons of oyster sauce – here's another recipe I'll be using it for!
my husband would love a dish like this. And my daughter too! she loves drumsticks
This looks amazing! I love chicken adobo and the mushrooms is such a wonderful addition! Can't wait to make this!
I am so excited to try this recipe – yum!
Wow! Finally vinegar-free adobo. I always messed up with vinegar. Can’t wait to try this!
Thank you so much.
I’ve tried this recipe soooo many times and it’s always delicious!!!
I am so delighted to know this!! Thank you for letting us know and we do love this recipe too!
Hi Abby, I tried this today. It is so delicious. Thank you!
I am so totally happy that you liked it. Honestly, of all the adobo versions this is, for me, the best! Thanks for letting us know.
Just made this for 4 Adults and a six year old. Everyone loved it. I added Mushrooms and then put some pineapple chunks on the top when I served it. I had to double up on the sauce ingredients though this is definitely going in my recipe box
Love it! Thank you! It’s so easy to make and also very flavoursome. I’ve been looking for a version without the vinegar and it’s perfect.
Glad you found the recipe and enjoyed it. Thank you for letting us know!
I know this is an older article, but I just want to say that I am so happy to find a vinegar free recipe for adobo and that it is possible. I grew up with the traditional but now in my later years my stomach can no longer handle the acidity now with my ibs/GERD. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Yay! So glad you found this recipe and it worked for you!!!
I notice, doesn’t this type of adobo need vinegar?
No, this is Chinese-style as the title says – it’s not Filipino adobo. My Chinese friend who gave this recipe to me said – they don’t use vinegar for their adobo.
Thank you for this recipe! it’s delicious. I made it a few times and my fussy eater husband loved it. I was looking for a recipe without vinegar as my hubby hates it and I found yours.
So glad you enjoyed this. Thank you!