Adobo-don

It’s the Filipino Godfather of chicken dishes. Get it? Don…Godfather…

Actually, “don” in this case comes from the Japanese donburi, meaning “rice bowl dish,” and one of my husband’s standby’s when we go to our favorite Japanese restaurant is katsu-don (pork rice bowl). One of his other favorite meals is adobo (uh-doh-boh), a traditional Filipino dish made from pork or chicken stewed in a spiced vinegar-soy broth. One evening while making adobo, he proposed combining the two, so with the addition of some leeks and onions, Adobo-don was born!

Ingredients

12-16 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 bunch of leeks

1 bunch of green onions

1-2 small sweet onions

½ cup soy sayce

¾ cup vinegar

1½ cups water

Black pepper

Garlic powder

Canola oil

Rice (I prefer brown)

 

Making the adobo

Layer the bottom of a large pot with chicken. Dust with pepper and garlic. Add another layer of chicken, and again season with pepper and garlic. Repeat until all the chicken is in the pot. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar and water and add to the pot, making sure all the pieces of chicken are submerged. Bring to a boil, then reduce to med-lo and cook for about an hour.

Making the “don”

Prepare rice according to directions on the package.

While the rice and chicken are cooking, prepare the leeks. They can be especially dirty, so after rinsing the outside and shedding some of the outer layers (much like lettuce) I like to slice them length-wise in quarters so I can rinse between the inner layers as well. Chop off the root end and the super green top ends, keeping the white part and about 2-3 inches of green. Chop these remaining parts of the leeks into segments about 3 inches long. Rinse the green onions and similarly chop them into 3-inch segments, discarding the root end. Coarsely slice the sweet onions into strips approximately the same size as the leeks and green onions.

Sauté the leeks, onions, and green onions in about 3 tablespoons of canola oil until they are soft. Add a few ladles of the chicken broth (once the chicken is done cooking) to the vegetables for flavor, and season with additional garlic powder and a sprinkling of soy sauce as desired.

A chicken bowl you can’t refuse!

Now it’s time to assemble the bowls! Rice on the bottom, followed by some vegetables, then top with a few piece of chicken, adding some adobo broth for more flavor and moisture. Then enjoy the bowl of deliciousness!

~Karla