Chicken Adobo

---

Serves 4

Cooking Time 4 to 5 hours on Low

Slow Cooker Size 5½ to 7 Quarts

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Chicken adobo is a popular Filipino dish made by slowly simmering chicken in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and black pepper. The beauty of this dish is that it features a short ingredient list and requires very little prep work, while still delivering tender, moist chicken and a boldly flavored sauce. In traditional recipes the chicken is marinated, then the marinade is reduced to create a thick sauce. Since we would be cooking the chicken thighs for a full five hours, we skipped the marinade and simply cooked the chicken directly in the sauce. So that we wouldn’t have to reduce the sauce over the stove, we scaled it down and added a little tapioca to thicken it as it cooked. Some creamy coconut milk helped to balance the tart and salty flavors of the sauce. Stirring in a portion of the coconut milk just before serving helped to deepen the coconut flavor, which can taste dull after several hours in the slow cooker. Serve with rice. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.

½	cup canned coconut milk
2	tablespoons cider vinegar
2	tablespoons soy sauce
2	teaspoons minced garlic
1	tablespoon instant tapioca
2	bay leaves
	Salt and pepper
8	(5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
2	scallions, sliced thin

1. Combine ¼ cup coconut milk, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, tapioca, bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon pepper in slow cooker. Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 5 hours on low.

2. Transfer chicken to serving dish. Discard bay leaves. Stir remaining ¼ cup coconut milk into braising liquid and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with scallions. Serve.