Easy Instant Pot Chicken Adobo
What is Adobo? It's tender meat with BIG flavor. This short-cut Instant Pot recipe turns chicken adobo into an easy weeknight dinner.
There are certain recipes on my food blog that are buried deep in Google search results and don’t get a ton of traffic. But, they do get rave reviews from the small but loyal following that finds them. One of these hidden gems is Instant Pot Chicken Adobo, an easy recipe that delivers big, big flavor.
Tender chicken thighs are simmered in a savory/sweet/tangy blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger and garlic. Served over rice, it’s a fast and flavorful family dinner. The meat is also fantastic served with a crunchy cabbage slaw.
"Adobo" comes from the Spanish word adobar, which means "marinade" or "sauce" or "seasoning." Because the word means many things, "adobo" can refer to different types of recipes in different cuisines.
This recipe, and my recipe for Instant Pot pork adobo, are adapted from traditional Filipino adobo. While the cooking method and ingredients for Filipino adobo are indigenous to the Philippines, the dish wasn't called adobo until the Spanish empire colonized the Philippines in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Filipino adobo recipes can vary greatly from cook to cook. But most marinate meat in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper. I also add a pinch of brown sugar to balance the salty and sour flavors with a hint of sweetness.
This recipe also takes advantage of a pressure cooker to make an adobo recipe that is easy, fairly fast and guarantees tender meat.
Find the recipe here. Hope you enjoy it!
Cookbooks
If you’re interested in Filipino cuisine, there’s so much to explore!
A good place to start is with Chef Roline Casper's cookbook, The Easy Filipino Cookbook. It's filled with simple, authentic recipes.
I Am a Filipino: And This is How We Cook is an award-winning cookbook by Chef Nicole Ponseca that's also one of my favorites.
Dinner Last Week
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.
Monday: Glass noodle soup
Tuesday: Oven-roasted tilapia (it was a little bland), frozen corn, and mac n’ cheese. (I’m still testing a new baked macaroni and cheese recipe, but haven’t quite perfected it yet)
Wednesday: Chickpeas and spinach, brown rice, Trader Joe’s frozen samosas
Thursday: Dried chuka soba noodles flavored with a mix of soy sauce (about 2 tablespoons) and maple syrup (about 1 teaspoon) and served with a mix of vegetables that I roasted on a sheet-pan (purple cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli and onion). I also served Trader Joe’s egg rolls.
Friday: Grilled pork chops, cheese ravioli, boiled asparagus, salad
Today is the first day of spring break, so I keep shooing the kids outside while I try to work. It’s damp and a little bit chilly today, so they just made a thermos of hot cocoa and headed into the backyard. Our neighborhood is super lush from all of the rain!
We’re mostly doing a “stay-cation” this year for spring break. But we are planning a drive to Arizona later next week to see my parents before they stop snowbirding and head back up to the Pacific Northwest for summer.
I hope you all have a fun spring break, either traveling or at home!
xo
Jenny