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Chicken thighs and chicken legs in a slow cooker with a red chili, peppercorns and bay leaves.

Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo

The long simmer of this Slow Cooker One Pot Chicken Adobo delivers succulent chicken thighs and drums with a savory sauce of vinegar and soy sauce, spiked with garlic and peppercorns. Serve this national dish of the Philippines with hot rice.
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 362kcal
Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

  • ½ cup cicer vinegar
  • ⅓ cup soy sauce
  • 12 whole garlic cloves peeled
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 skin on-bone-in chicken thighs
  • 4 chicken drumsticks
  • 1-2 whole birds-eye or Thai chilis
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 2-3 dried bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon sliced scallion tops for garnish

Instructions

  • In a small dish, whisk together the vinegar and soy sauce then pour into the bottom of a 6-qt. slow cooker.  Add the garlic cloves and set aside.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet set over medium heat.  Working in batches, brown the chicken thighs and the legs then transfer them to the slow cooker, turning to coat in the sauce.
  • Add the chilis, peppercorns and the bay leaves.
  • Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours until the chicken is tender.  
  • When ready to serve, remove and discard the chilis and bay leaves, transfer the chicken to a dish and garnish with snipped scallions or chopped parsley. Pour the sauce into a dish or pitcher. (see notes.)
  • Serve the chicken adobo with white rice along with the sauce.

Notes

  • To thicken the sauce, combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Pour the sauce into a small pan and bring to a boil, stir in the cornstarch/water slurry and cook until thickened.
  • Browning the chicken is not mandatory and can be skipped, but it does add huge flavor to the dish.
  • Do not add salt to the chicken during the browning process as the soy sauce will add enough seasoning.
  • We used regular soy sauce, if sodium-sensitive substitute with the low-sodium soy sauce.
  • We used cider vinegar but rice vinegar or regular white vinegar can be used instead.
  • Chicken adobo is more flavorful using the darker portions of thighs and drumsticks as the fat content adds flavor to the sauce.
  • Skinless chicken thighs and drumsticks can be used in this dish.
  • The chili is optional and can also be substituted with a 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 362kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 157mg | Sodium: 1304mg | Fiber: 1g