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Last week I wrote how I felt burned out, despite my life being really privileged and easy compared to others. Coming into 2020, my goals were to continue my journey of personal transformation into the person I want to be. It’s been a difficult year for all of us in the world. Corona virus or not, that is life. I am discovering the things I need to work on, and building on my strengths. This doesn’t end for any of us. So, in order to continue to grow, I’m going back to what I am good at, which is cooking. Like walking, everyone has to learn how to cook. Despite growing up in a family of cooks, I wasn’t interested in it until after high school. Until I was 19, all I knew with cooking was: baking cookies, and making chili. Chicken Adobo was one of the first things I learned in college from my fellow Filipino classmates. This recipe is a comfort food, and delicious any time of the year. Without further ado, here is my recipe for Chicken Adobo (because I know I’m annoyed when people have a personal story before a recipe) :

Chicken Adobo:

Six Servings, Cooking time: 90 minutes.

• (Metric to imperial notes: 2oz is 1/4 cup; 8oz is 1 cup; 15ml is 1 tablespoon)
• 3 pounds chicken thighs, skin on;
• 2oz sunflower oil;
• 2 large onions, about 1 pound weight, sliced;
• 2oz grated ginger
• 2oz minced garlic
• 8oz soy sauce
• 8oz apple cider vinegar
• 4oz apple cider vinegar (Added at the end to hit the right sour notes)
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 4oz water
• 15ml Sriacha hot sauce
• 15ml chili paste
• 30 ml fresh ground black pepper
• 30ml kosher salt
• 30ml black peppercorns
• 3oz packed brown sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• The juice and flesh of 1/2 lime. (Added in at the end with the 4oz apple cider vinegar)

Nutrition facts label

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Start by sprinkling the kosher salt and ground black pepper on one side of the chicken thighs. In a large pot pour in the oil, and set the heat to high.

Place the seasoned Chicken thighs side down into the hot pan. Carefully place each thigh in the pan with tongs. You want to leave a little space between as seen below so the facedown side is browned. This step is to build flavor from the browned skin.

Once the chicken is in the pot, season the other side with the kosher salt and ground black pepper. Cook on high for 8-10 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, cut the vegetables.

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