Instant Pot Filipino-Inspired Chicken Adobo

I love chicken adobo.  I mean, LOVE.  That delicious combo of vinegar and soy sauce with all the garlic you could stand, drizzled over some white rice and some tender, fall off the bone chicken makes my mouth water and the scale climb in number.  However, my husband loves it more than I do.  He will almost do a happy dance when he finds out that he’s going to have chicken adobo, he loves the dish so much.  It’s almost comical how happy he gets, but I’ll take it as a compliment to my cooking.

Jump to the Equipment List. Jump to the Ingredient List. Jump to the Recipe Instructions.

Chicken adobo is a Filipino dish that is very simple to make, yet extremely satisfying.  Growing up, adobo meant something else other than the dish I enjoy fairly frequently today. Check out this Chowhound article on the difference between Latin and Filipino adobo. 

The word adobo may come from the Spanish word adovar which means to marinate. So, basically, this recipe is all about the marinade. Typically, the chicken is stepped in this delicious, vinegary, and tangy marinade and then braised in the same marinade. The yield is a tender, delicious meat, falling off the bone. Typically, this dish is done at a low temp and cooked over hours.

It’s easy to make this Filipino-inspired chicken adobo in the slow cooker, but it’s quicker and just as fantastic in the Instant Pot. In fact, as much as I love this dish, I don’t love how the house smells when I make it in the slow cooker. It’s still fragrant in the Instant Pot, but not quite as in-your-face. And besides, you can cook this and have dinner served within an hour or less. Have nothing planned for dinner tonight? Chicken adobo to the rescue. You have an excess amount of chicken? Put it together in a Ziploc bag and freeze it for dinner in a pinch. Read on for the recipe!

Equipment List:

  • 6-quart instant pot
  • Tongs to flip the chicken
  • Measuring cup and measuring spoons
  • Serving ladle (I used the one that came with my pot)
  • Plate to hold the reserved chicken (optional)
  • Wooden spoon to saute the chicken (optional)

Ingredient List:

  • 2 pounds chicken thighs – bone-in and skin-on
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1 cup low sodium soy sauce (or aminos if going gluten free)
  • 6-8 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil for browning (optional)
Ingredients for instant pot Filipino-inspired chicken adobo.  Simple and delicious.
The Cast of Characters for this recipe include: garlic, bay leaves, chicken thighs, soy sauce, and white vinegar, and peppercorns (not pictured). Six simple ingredients for a delicious dinner!

Recipe Instructions:

  • Optional step: wash and pat dry the chicken pieces.
  • Optional step: set the Instant Pot to “Saute” and adjust to medium heat. When the display states “HOT,” pour in and swirl around the oil. When the display reads “HOT” again, saute the chicken, skin side down, in batches. Brown the chicken for about two minutes and flip. Saute for two minutes. Set aside the chicken on a plate.
After browning. I personally found that the browning does not add too much additional depth of flavor to the finished dish, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.
  • Pour one cup of white vinegar together with one cup of low sodium soy sauce in the inner liner of the Instant Pot.
  • Peel and smash the garlic cloves, as many as you would like to have. Add to the vinegar/soy sauce mix.
  • Add peppercorns. They don’t make the dish spicy, but the peppercorns add a nice kick in each bite. You can omit them altogether, if you prefer.
  • Add the chicken.
  • Stir everything together. If you’re able to submerge the chicken, this is a good time to do that.
  • Add the bay leaves on top.
Ready for some pressure.
  • Cook under high pressure for about 10 minutes. If cooking from frozen, cook for 13 minutes.
  • Allow the pot to rest for about 10 minutes after the cooking cycle is complete.
  • Release any of the remaining pressure.
  • Option step: Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside on a clean plate. Tent with aluminum foil to retain the heat. Press the saute button on the pot and boil the liquid for a couple of minutes to thicken slightly.
  • Serve chicken adobo over Instant Pot Jasmine Rice!
  • Enjoy!
Plated with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice. It was so delicious the next day, too!

What do you enjoy the most about this recipe? I think it’s the tanginess of the vinegar mixed in with the saltiness of the soy sauce. I also really like how tender this chicken becomes. It practically falls off the bone. Not to mention, the garlic takes on a smooth and slightly sweet taste, which is nice smeared over the chicken or on the rice. Delicious!

Thank you for sharing some of your screen time with me! If you liked this recipe, please hit the like button so I know to make more content like this. Tell me what you want me to try making next in the comments below. Also, check out my Facebook and Instagram (tag me at @cookwithsamib) for more photos and my Pinterest for what inspires me. Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for updates when I hang new posts!

Join 82 other followers

Buen provecho! – Sami B.

Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi with Asparagus

I love Shrimp scampi. It is buttery, garlicky, lemony, and delicious. When done right, the shrimp pops with flavor and is perfectly cooked. Sometimes, I’ll take some crusty bread and sop up that delicious sauce.

Shrimp scampi is quick to make for a fast meal and is a home run with the kids. They recently started eating shrimp, which is another good way to get protein in their diet without them getting too tired of eating the same thing. Sometimes, you just gotta mix it up, even if they are picky eaters.

The other day, my husband accidentally grabbed my leftovers for lunch at work, assuming it was my 1950s Pot Roast. At first, he was disappointed, but after eating it, he immediately called and told me how good the combination of shrimp and asparagus was. Yes, you heard right, shrimp and asparagus in that buttery, garlicky, and lemony sauce tasted amazing.

Jump to the Equipment List. Jump to the Ingredient List. Jump to the Recipe Instructions.

As happens more frequently or not, Bay Area traffic robs me of precious time with my family. Right when I open the door, my kids come barrelling at me telling me that they’re starving and they can’t wait another moment to eat something, so can they please have a snack?? Gotta get them feed, so I go straight to the kitchen to give them something light to eat and get to work making dinner.

Most of the time, I’m scrambling. I’m scrambling to slap something together that I know they will eat, because I’m tired and I don’t want to fight them on dinner. They are tired, too. Their dad might have made them do a bunch of homework and read to him. They might have had a long day at school. Little kids, for all the energy they have, get tired easily. I will admit that there have been times when I’ve decided “it’s breakfast for dinner!” or “how about some cheese quesadillas?” It’s quick, easy, and I don’t have to think.

I’m working to break us of this habit. Not that breakfast for dinner or a cheese quesadilla is bad, but when it’s at least one weeknight a week, I have to question my planning skills.

You see, I’m the planner of the family. I have to have everything lined up, regimented, planned, with all the details, and almost exact. I don’t do so well flying by the seat of my pants on anything. I may or may not be a control freak in that aspect. My husband, on the other hand, wings it. I guess he’s the ying to my yang.

Meal planning, though, is tough. I, more than you know, understand that meal planning is a challenge. Plans are good until plans change and sometimes adapting to overcome is a life skill one has to attain and employ. So that night, when I sat in traffic for almost an hour and came home with no dinner after 6 pm, I had to think fast. What was I going to feed the kids?

I knew that my Instant Pot would come in handy to make something fairly quickly. What would I put in it was the question.

There are things that I always try to have handy in the house. As you look at what you and your family like to eat, think about the staples you should have in your pantry at all times to throw together a good meal. I keep a lot of spaghetti around. Mondays are usually spaghetti and meatball night for the kiddos. I also keep chicken stock, butter, fresh garlic, and frozen shrimp on hand.

So, that night, when the kids were pulling at my legs begging for food, I told myself to whip up something pretty quick. I texted my neighbor to see if she had a lemon, which she did.

Shrimp Scampi was a go!

The boys loved it. They really enjoyed the smooth, buttery, garlicky, lemony sauce that coated the noodles and the shrimp. It was so simple to put together that the boys were well into their meal within 30 minutes. And my husband and I were happy, because we could talk about our day without verbal interruptions from the boys.

Absolutely perfect. Read on for my recipe for my Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi!

Please note that this recipe comes together FAST! It’s critical you stick to the cooking times in this recipe so you don’t end up with overcooked, rubbery shrimp! This is also not the recipe to use your tiny, cooked, salad shrimp. This recipe specifically calls for “large” (31/35 count), raw shrimp. Different shrimp sizes may change the cook time.

Equipment List:

  • Instant Pot (I used my 6 quart)
  • Steamer basket
  • Wooden spoon
  • Chef’s knife
  • Cutting board
  • Measuring spoons and cup

Ingredient List:

  • 1 pound large (31/35 count) raw, peeled but tail-on (or unpeeled) shrimp
  • Asparagus (optional, but goes really well with the dish)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/4-1/2 cup butter
  • 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 5 cloves garlic (3 if you don’t want too much), diced or minced
  • Parsley for garnish
  • Cooked spaghetti noodles

Recipe Instructions:

  • Prepare your asparagus (if using).
  • Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.
  • Meanwhile, pour 1 cup of water into the inner liner of your Instant Pot.
  • Pour raw shrimp and asparagus (if using) into the steamer basket and place basket inside your Instant Pot.
Shrimp and asparagus ready to go for Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi
Asparagus on the bottom and shrimp on the top.
  • Lock the lid and ensure the steam release valve is set to sealing.
  • Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button and set the timer to “0.” Yes, “0” minutes. Any more time and the shrimp will bounce like rubber balls.
  • While the Instant Pot is cooking, mix the garlic and 2 tablespoons (up to 1/4 cup) of lemon juice together.
  • After the Instant Pot finishes its cooking cycle, carefully quick release the pressure. This process can take up to 3 minutes.
  • At this point, your pasta should be ready. Drain and set aside.
  • Once the pin drops, carefully open the Instant Pot and remove the steamer basket.
  • Peel shrimp, if desired.
  • Dump out the cooking water and wipe the inner pot clean.
  • Turn off the keep warm mode by selecting the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button.
  • Press the saute button and using the adjust button, set the temp to normal (not low or high).
  • The pot should already be warmed. Drop the butter and olive oil into the pot. Swirl the fat until the butter is mostly melted.
  • Pour in the lemon and garlic mixture. Using a wooden spoon, move the minced garlic as you don’t want this to burn.
  • Pour in the chicken stock.
  • Allow to thicken for just a couple of minutes.
  • Serve shrimp and asparagus with a drizzle of sauce on top of spaghetti. Sprinkle some parsley on your dish.
  • Enjoy with some bread to sop up that tasty sauce!
The kids just opted for shrimp with the pasta. My bowl had asparagus. Yum!

Do you like shrimp scampi on pasta? What veggies do you like on the side? Tell me what you enjoy eating with this recipe and I’ll incorporate it into my meals.

Thank you for sharing some of your screen time with me! If you liked this recipe, please hit the like button so I know to make more content like this. Tell me what you want me to try making next in the comments below. Also, check out my Facebook and Instagram (tag me at @cookwithsamib) for more photos and my Pinterest for what inspires me. Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for updates when I hang new posts!

Join 82 other followers

Buen provecho! – Sami B.