Any adobo, whether it’s chicken or pork or both, will either be one of two things: swimming in sauce, or reduced until sticky-dry and glossed with fat. We like to differentiate these into “wet” or “dry” adobo. Both are good and are a matter of the home cook’s preference.
This recipe presents a third option: the “gravy” adobo. Classic Filipino meets French technique with a roux-based adobo sauce. Instead of reducing, we experimented with thickening the adobo sauce with butter and flour.
Cool thing we discovered: Because the adobo sauce is thick, buttery, and full-bodied, the tangy, savory flavors linger on your tongue a little longer, making you taste your usual adobo in a whole new way (more on that below).
What is a roux?
If you want to thicken a sauce, the most common way to do it is with a roux: a mixture of fat and flour, often in equal parts.
To make a roux, you melt fat (can be butter, oil, rendered meat drippings), add flour, then whisk over low heat until a smooth paste forms.
The longer you cook a roux, the darker it gets. The three types of roux are based on this progression in color:
- White roux. Just cooked through, usually used for béchamel.
- Blond roux. Pale golden with a faint nutty aroma, used in gravies and soups.
- Brown roux. Dark reddish-brown and deeply nutty. Common in Cajun cooking, and used in this adobo.
Once your roux is ready, slowly whisk in your liquid. Let it simmer and reduce until the sauce thickens to your liking.
Flavor release
Flavor release is the way flavors show up over time while you’re eating.
Some flavors you right away, like acidity, saltiness, or heat (think of biting into a red chili). Others develop more slowly, like umami, bitterness, or the subtle aromas from herbs and spices.
How food releases flavor has a lot to do with things like texture, fat, and temperature. For example, crunchy foods release flavor quickly because they break apart fast, letting flavors escape right out the bat. Creamy foods, like chocolate or cheese, coat your mouth and melt slowly, releasing flavor more gradually.
How it works in this adobo
The roux-thickened adobo sauce in this recipe has a thicker, creamier, fuller body. In turn, its flavors unfold more slowly, too. Instead of tasting everything at once, you get the adobo’s sour, salty, and savory notes one after the other, stretched out over time. That lingering sequence makes the flavors feel more distinct—and gives you a new way of experiencing adobo.
If this all sounds abstract, give it a try to understand!
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 kg assorted bone-in, skin-on chicken cuts
- 1 cup chopped onions
- ½ cup crushed garlic cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup vinegar
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
Brown chicken: Heat 3 tbsp neutral oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed skillet, braising pan, or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces in a single layer, working in batches as necessary to make sure the pieces don’t overlap. Cook, stirring and turning occasionally, until chicken pieces are lightly browned on all sides. Transfer browned chicken pieces to a plate and set aside. Repeat until all chicken pieces are browned.
Cook aromatics: Reduce heat to medium. Add onions and garlic cloves to the leftover oil and rendered fat. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent and garlic is beginning to brown, about 5–7 minutes. Add bay leaves and black peppercorns. Continue cooking until bay leaves start to brown around the edges, about 1–2 minutes.
Cook chicken: Return chicken to the pan. Add water, soy sauce, and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Cover pan and let cook until chicken is fork-tender, about 45 minutes.
Separate meat and sauce: Remove chicken pieces from the pan; set aside. Pour adobo sauce into a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. This separates the liquid from the solid aromatics like the garlic cloves, bay leaves, and peppercorns, which you can keep and set aside with the chicken.
Make roux: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly whisk in all-purpose flour. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth and flour smells nutty and toasty, almost like popcorn. Continue cooking and whisking until the flour takes on a brown color, about 8–10 minutes.
Thicken adobo sauce: Pour adobo sauce into the roux in a steady stream, still whisking constantly. Continue cooking and whisking until the sauce takes on a gravy-like consistency, about 10 minutes.
Serve: Arrange chicken pieces and aromatics in a serving platter. Pour thickened adobo sauce over the chicken until all pieces are coated. Transfer remaining sauce to a gravy boat or small bowl. Serve with steamed rice.
