Adobo Chicken with Spicy Cucumber Salad

This incredibly simple dish from the Philippines packs a punch for the taste buds. The sauce is so intense, both tangy & rich. The cucumber salad perfectly balances out the flavours, bringing a cool freshness to this rock star dish.

4 Servings

Ingredients for Adobo Chicken:

1 kg chicken thighs

10 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp pepper

4 bay leaves

250ml apple cider vinegar

125ml soy sauce

Instructions for Adobo Chicken:

Heat oven to 200 c.

Place chicken thighs, garlic, pepper & bay leaves in a pot. Pour over vinegar & soy sauce.

Bring to a boil & cook on medium low with a lid on for 30 minutes.

Place chicken on an oven tray & bake for roughly 20 minutes, until skin is dark and crispy.

Pass the sauce through a strainer & return to the pot. Reduce by half on medium heat.

Mix 1 tbsp of cornflour with 1 tbsp cold water & add to the sauce, whisking gently until the sauce thickens. Serve chicken with sauce drizzled over, accompanied by rice & the salad below.

Ingredients for Spicy Cucumber Salad:

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 chilli, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 cucumber, finely sliced

Instructions for Spicy Cucumber Salad:

In a bowl, combine sugar & vinegar. Add sesame oil, sesame seeds, chilli & garlic.

Mix well then toss with cucumber.