Adobo sa gata, or Chicken Adobo in Coconut Milk, is a Filipino flavor explosion that will seriously shake up your weeknight dinner plans in the best of ways. Chicken adobo is salty, sweet, and acidic in all the right ways. In this twist on the classic, I crisp up the chicken skin in my air fryer and top heaping plates of rice and saucy chicken with some serious crunch.
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Here’s What You’ll Need
Chicken thighs: For this recipe, I’m using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. You’ll want the skin if crispy, crunchy air fryer chicken crackling is your thing. And although not traditional, the ‘soggy’ chicken skin on braised thighs is the only objection my boys originally had with this dish. I had the idea watching an Uncle Roger video – he visited a Filipino restaurant and the restaurant owner served coconut adobo with crispy pork belly.
Rice vinegar: Rice vinegar contrasts with the soy sauce and acidity balances out the salty, giving this dish its signature tang. Substitute with apple cider vinegar or cane vinegar (the most traditional).
Soy sauce: You’ll use both light and dark soy sauces for this recipe. The light soy sauce will give us most of the flavor we’re looking for, while the dark soy sauce, more intensely flavored, is used sparingly to add a deeper hue to the dish.
Brown sugar: Use packed brown sugar to balance the salty soy and tangy vinegar.
Garlic: 4-5 minced garlic cloves or 2 teaspoons garlic powder. Use more or less depending on the size of your garlic cloves and love of garlic.
Black peppercorns: The peppercorns get braised with the chicken, so they soften up quite a bit and add little pops of sweet heat to the dish. Alternatively, you can grind black pepper into your dish.
Ginger: Ginger has a subtle spiciness and adds zingy freshness to the dish. I usually grate ginger into dishes, although for a more subtle effect you can slice and remove before serving.
Bay leaves: Okay to omit if you don’t have on hand, although bay leaves add a certain ‘je-ne-sais-quoi’ to slow cooked dishes.
Coconut milk: Added in the final moments of cooking, coconut milk gives the sauce such a sweet, fragrant silkiness that it’s hard for me to make adobo without it!
Scallions: For garnish!
Additions and Substitutions
Substitutions: You can swap boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the chicken in this recipe. They’ll cook faster (approximately 12-15 minutes), so I recommend letting your sauce reduce for 5-7 minutes before adding your boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Substitutions: You can also leave the skin on the bone-in chicken thighs and skip the step of making chicken crackling. If you do this, you have two options. You can 1) remove the thighs from the marinade, pat them dry and sear them before adding the sauce or you can 2) braise them directly in the sauce.
Additions: Chicken adobo is a one pot meal (crispy chicken crackling aside). And when I make this during the week, I like to dump a bag of frozen broccoli into the pot a few minutes before it’s done. It’s a great, low-stress way to take care of your veggie for the night.
How To Make Chicken Adobo: Step-By-Step Instructions
- Although this step is optional (and not traditional), if crispy chicken chicharron sounds good to you, go ahead and separate the chicken skin from the chicken thighs and set aside.
- Then, in a recipient large enough to hold to hold your chicken thighs, mix together the marinade ingredients: ⅓ cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 4 minced garlic cloves, and 1-2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger.
- Place the chicken thighs into the marinade, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Pour the marinade and nestle the chicken thighs into a wok, a rondeau, dutch oven, or other deep-sided pan and bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
- Move the chicken thighs to a plate and add the coconut milk continuously stirring until you have a smooth sauce. Add the chicken thighs back to the pan, turning to coat, and cook on low for 5-7 minutes more before serving. Chicken will temp at 165F.
- Meanwhile, using a pair of kitchen tongs, place the chicken skin into the air fryer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then air fry at 390 for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Add a minute or two to the cook time if any part of the skin still looks flabby.
- Serve chicken over white or brown rice, with plenty of sauce. Top with crushed or whole chicken cracklings and green onions. Serve with lime wedges. Dig in!
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Marinate this chicken! While technically you can make this chicken without marinating the chicken, I recommend marinating everything for at least 30 minutes (and up to 24 – more than that and you risk impacting its texture). You can really taste the difference.
Marinating tip: Prep in the morning before you go to work. Pop it in the fridge and dinner becomes so, so easy!
Adding the coconut milk: Don’t add the coconut until the very last minutes of cooking and once you add in the coconut milk, make sure you reduce your heat to low. We’re looking to stir this in for a beautiful velvety smooth (and glossy) sauce.
Serving Suggestions
Rice is quintessential – to soak up all the sauce, of course! Steamed greens or a smashed cucumber salad would be a great way to add a serving of vegetables to your night.
Roasted vegetables, sauteed bok choy or sugar snap peas would be delicious side dishes. Sometimes I add a bag of frozen broccoli to the coconut chicken in the last 5 minutes of cooking, on really busy nights.
Steamed buns: Serve these with my soft and pillowy steamed buns – it’s a double down to make sure every last drop of sauce gets sopped up, and I’m down with that.
Storage & Reheating
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheating:
- For smaller portions, you can reheat the chicken in the microwave. Microwave for 2 minutes and continue heating in 30 second intervals until chicken is warmed through to your liking. To reheat leftover rice, I like to sprinkle with water or cover bowl with a damp paper towel before microwaving until warm.
- For larger portions, you can reheat gently in a skillet, flipping occasionally. You may want to add a tablespoon or two of water to thin out the sauce.
Freezing: You can freeze chicken adobo at two different stages, either in the marinade or after you’ve cooked it. If you freeze chicken before cooking it, it’ll marinate as it defrosts, which is glorious for weeknight cooking! Note, if you freeze the chicken after cooking, be sure to let it cool completely.
📖 Recipe
Adobo Sa Gata (Adobo Chicken with Coconut Milk)
Ingredients
Marinade
- ⅓ cup Rice Vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Black peppercorns whole (or add freshly ground black pepper to your dish to taste)
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Brown sugar
- 4-5 Garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons Freshly grated ginger
Chicken Adobo
- 2 lb Bone-in chicken thighs – 6 chicken thighs
- ½ cup water or chicken broth optional, have on hand to add if needed
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons Canola Oil
- 1-2 scallions sliced, for serving
Crispy Chicken Chicharrones (aka Crackling)
- Chicken skin from chicken thighs
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Although this step is optional (and not traditional), if crispy chicken chicharron, or crackling, sounds good to you, go ahead and separate the chicken skin from the chicken thighs and set aside.
- Then, in a recipient large enough to hold to hold your chicken thighs, mix together the marinade ingredients: ⅓ cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 4 minced garlic cloves, and 1-2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger.
- Place the chicken thighs into the marinade, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Pour the marinade and nestle the chicken thighs into a wok, a rondeau, dutch oven, or other deep-sided pan and bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
- Move the chicken thighs to a plate and add the coconut milk continuously stirring until you have a smooth sauce. Add the chicken thighs back to the pan, turning to coat, and cook on low for 5-7 minutes more before serving. Chicken will temp at 165F.
- Meanwhile, using a pair of kitchen tongs, place the chicken skin into the air fryer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then air fry at 390 for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Add a minute or two to the cook time if any part of the skin still looks flabby.
- Serve chicken over white or brown rice, with plenty of sauce. Top with crushed or whole chicken cracklings and green onions. Serve with lime wedges. Dig in!
