Nutrition: 301 Calories | 7.1g Net Carbs | 46.6g Protein | 9.1g Total Fat
Enjoy a savory Filipino dish, the easy way, with this Instant Pot chicken adobo recipe filled with incredible tangy flavors from vinegar and soy sauce.
Chicken adobo is an incredibly flavorful Filipino dish. With a base of soy sauce and vinegar, it has an amazing sweet, salty, tangy thing going on. It is truly a flavor explosion in your mouth, and I can’t get enough. Normally, the chicken thighs would be marinated and stewed for hours to develop the intense depth of flavor. However, the Instant Pot cuts the time down to less than an hour from prep to table. The magic of the pressure cooker does all the marinating and stewing all at once. This savory chicken is juicy, tender, and easy to make too.
Sear the Chicken
The first step in this easy recipe is to sear your chicken. Turn on the Sauté Mode on your Instant Pot. While it’s heating up, season your chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides. Then, add olive oil to the bottom of the pot. Next, put the chicken in skin side down. Sear the skin until its golden brown. Then, turn the chicken over, and sear the other side too. While the chicken is searing, dice up one onion.
Here’s a quick video showing you easiest way to finely dice an onion. I use this method all the time.
Sauté Onion and Garlic
Once the chicken has finished searing, take it out of the Instant Pot and set aside for later. Then, add your diced onion to the pot, and sauté it for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. While the onion is sautéing, mince up a few cloves of garlic. Or, you can use a garlic press, whichever is easier for you. I use this garlic press, and it works great. When the onion starts to caramelize and turn brown, cancel the Sauté Mode on the Instant Pot. Add the minced garlic to the pot, and stir it in with the onion. Let to garlic cook for only a minute or so, that way it won’t burn.
Finish the Sauce and Cook the Chicken
As soon as the garlic becomes fragrant, add apple cider vinegar and soy sauce to the Instant Pot. Stir it around so the garlic will stop cooking. Then, use your spoon to deglaze the pot and scrape up all the browned bits from the chicken and onions. Next, add some molasses, granulated stevia, and ground pepper, and stir them in. Finally, add a couple whole bay leaves to the pot, and nestle the chicken down inside the sauce, skin side up. Put the lid on the Instant Pot, and seal the pressure valve. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes on Poultry Mode.
Broil the Chicken and Simmer the Sauce
As soon as the chicken thighs have finished pressure cooking, you can manually release the pressure. However, if you’re prepping this meal earlier in the day, you can let the chicken stay warm until you’re ready to finish it up. While the pressure is releasing, turn on your oven’s broiler. When you can open the lid, move the chicken from Instant Pot to a baking sheet. Place the chicken skin side up. Then, broil the chicken in the middle of the oven to crisp up the skin. Keep an eye on the chicken so it doesn’t burn. While the chicken is broiling, simmer the sauce inside the Instant Pot by turning on the Sauté Mode again. Also, use some tongs to remove the bay leaves, and throw them away. The sauce will thicken up as it simmers.
When the chicken skin is crisped to your liking, remove the chicken thighs from the oven. Also cancel the Sauté Mode on the Instant Pot. It’ll take about five to ten minutes to broil the chicken and thicken the sauce. Serve the chicken thighs with the sauce on top. It’s fun to add chopped chives or green onions on top as a garnish. The adobo sauce tastes great on cauliflower rice or regular rice too. I like to round out my meal with a quick salad tossed in Asian dressing. Enjoy.
Other recipes to check out: Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore, Healthy Asian Zucchini Slaw, and Instant Pot Drumsticks.
Effortless Instant Pot Chicken Adobo – Savory Filipino Dish
Enjoy a savory Filipino dish, the easy way, with this Instant Pot chicken adobo recipe filled with incredible tangy flavors from vinegar and soy sauce.
Total Time: 40 min
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Thighs, about 2 pounds
- 1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Onion
- 5 Garlic Cloves
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Granulated Stevia
- 1/2 tsp Molasses
- 1/2 tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Optional: Chives or Green Onions for garnish
Directions
- Turn the Instant Pot on Sauté Mode. Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper. When the pot is hot, pour in the olive oil. Then, add the chicken to the pot skin side down. Sear the chicken until the skin is golden, and turn over to sear the other side.
- While the chicken is searing, dice the onion, and mince the garlic.
- When the chicken is finished searing, remove it from the pot to a plate. Add the diced onion to the Instant Pot. Sauté the onion, and let it caramelize for 2-3 minutes. Cancel the Sauté Mode.
- Add the garlic to the pot, and let it cook for 1 minute. When the garlic becomes fragrant, immediately add the soy sauce and vinegar to the pot so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Use a spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Then, stir in the stevia, molasses, and ground pepper. Add the bay leaves to the pot, and nestle the chicken in the sauce.
- Cook the chicken on Poultry Mode for 15 minutes. It will take 5-10 minutes to come to pressure. When the chicken is finished cooking, release the pressure.
- While the pressure on the Instant Pot releases, turn on the oven’s broiler. Move the chicken thighs to a baking sheet keeping them skin side up. Broil the chicken for 5-7 minutes in the middle of the oven, to crisp the skin.
- While the chicken is broiling, turn on the Sauté Mode on the Instant Pot. Remove the bay leaves, and simmer the sauce to thicken it.
- When the chicken skin is crisped to your liking, remove if from the oven. Then, cancel the Sauté Mode on the Instant Pot. Serve the chicken with the sauce on top. Garnish with chives or green onions as desired.
Nutrition:
Yield: 4 servings, Serving Size: 1 Chicken Thigh
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 301, Total Fat: 9.1g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 210mg, Sodium: 1401.6mg, Carbohydrates: 8.2g, Fiber: 1.1g, Sugars: 2.6g, Protein 46.6g
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