Filipino Adobo Chicken Wings
Wings marinated and simmered in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, black pepper and bay leaves, then tossed in the cooking liquid boiled down to a glaze with onions and served with sweet homemade banana ketchup.
Long before Spain arrived, people in the islands kept food from spoiling in the heat with vinegar and salt, cooking with coconut, cane, nipa palm and kaong palm vinegars (Wikipedia:). The Spanish word appears first in Pedro de San Buenaventura's Tagalog dictionary of 1613, which describes "adobo de los naturales", adobo of the native peoples (Wikipedia). Soy sauce, used in most versions in place of salt, is linked to Chinese influence, and a rarer "white" adobo, adobong puti, uses salt instead (Wikipedia). Adobo is widely called the unofficial national dish; in 2021 the government's standards bureau announced plans to define a standard recipe for promoting it abroad, which nobody has to follow (Wikipedia). Wings are an easy fit: the meat braises tender in the vinegar and soy, and the liquid boils down into a glaze.
Why it works the kitchen science
The marinade is the sauce
The wings soak, cook and finish in the same vinegar and soy, so nothing is wasted and the flavor goes all the way through.
Sweet against sour
The vinegar-and-soy glaze is sharp and salty, and the sweet, spiced banana ketchup rounds it off bite by bite.
Step by step
- Step 1
Blend the vinegar, soy sauce, pepper and garlic until smooth. Pour into a deep 10- or 12-inch skillet, add the bay leaves and submerge the wings. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 6 hours.
- Step 2
Make the banana ketchup: heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the ginger, turmeric, allspice, garlic and jalapeño and cook 1 minute; stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute more. Add the bananas, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and rum, and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until slightly thickened. Press plastic wrap on the surface and let cool.
- Step 3
Set the skillet of wings over high heat. Once the liquid bubbles, cook about 25 minutes, turning and moving the wings now and then (lower to medium-high if it boils too hard), until the thickest drumette reads 165°F.
- Step 4
Lift the wings into a bowl. Add the sliced onion to the skillet and boil over high heat 5 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the liquid reduces to a glaze and the onion is soft. Fish out the bay leaves.
- Step 5
Optional, for crisp edges: heat the broiler, spread the wings on a foil-lined sheet and broil 6 inches from the heat 3 to 5 minutes per side, until spotted dark brown.
- Step 6
Pour the glaze and onions over the wings, toss, sprinkle with parsley and serve with the banana ketchup and rice.
Filipino Adobo Chicken Wings
Serves 3 (with rice) · about 16 wing pieces and about 1 cup banana ketchup · 1 hr 10 min total
Adobo
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 head garlic, cloves separated, smashed and peeled
- 6 bay leaves
- 2 lb chicken wings, split at the joint, tips removed
Banana ketchup
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 1/2 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/8 tsp ground allspice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and minced
- 1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
- 2 very ripe bananas, mashed smooth (about 1 cup)
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark rum (optional)
To finish
- 1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp thinly sliced flat-leaf parsley
- Steamed rice
Method
- Blend the vinegar, soy sauce, pepper and garlic until smooth. Pour into a deep 10- or 12-inch skillet, add the bay leaves and submerge the wings. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 6 hours.
- Make the banana ketchup: heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the ginger, turmeric, allspice, garlic and jalapeño and cook 1 minute; stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute more. Add the bananas, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and rum, and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until slightly thickened. Press plastic wrap on the surface and let cool.
- Set the skillet of wings over high heat. Once the liquid bubbles, cook about 25 minutes, turning and moving the wings now and then (lower to medium-high if it boils too hard), until the thickest drumette reads 165°F.
- Lift the wings into a bowl. Add the sliced onion to the skillet and boil over high heat 5 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the liquid reduces to a glaze and the onion is soft. Fish out the bay leaves.
- Optional, for crisp edges: heat the broiler, spread the wings on a foil-lined sheet and broil 6 inches from the heat 3 to 5 minutes per side, until spotted dark brown.
- Pour the glaze and onions over the wings, toss, sprinkle with parsley and serve with the banana ketchup and rice.
Adapted from Food Network Kitchen, "Filipino Adobo Chicken Wings". We halve the wings and adobo marinade (4 lb to 2 lb) and keep the banana ketchup as written (about 1 cup). Food Network calls its 4 lb 6 to 8 servings; we call 2 lb 3 with rice. Food Network gives no temperatures; the 165°F check is from USDA FSIS, and the optional broil in step 5 is ours (Wikipedia notes adobo is often browned or grilled for crisp edges). Food Network. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- For a more Filipino flavor, use cane or coconut vinegar (Wikipedia lists both among the traditional vinegars).
- Turn on the fan: boiling vinegar is pungent.
- The banana ketchup keeps in the refrigerator for a week (our estimate) and is also good with fried chicken and eggs.
- Leftover adobo is famous for tasting better the next day; reheat the wings in the glaze.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Adobo is a Spanish dish. Disputed: historian Raymond Sokolov argued the Spanish name was put on a native dish; Doreen Fernandez suggested it may have been adapted from Mexican adobo, though the two differ a lot (Wikipedia).
- Real adobo has soy sauce. Disputed: most versions do, but adobong puti uses salt instead (Wikipedia).
- Adobo is the national dish. Folklore: widely said, but unofficial (Wikipedia).
- There is one official adobo recipe. Documented as false: the 2021 standard was announced as voluntary (Wikipedia).
- Adobo tastes better the next day. Folklore: a common saying.
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