I make - Chicken Adobo with balsamic vinegar

Yes, balsamic vinegar. Actually it's balsamic vinegar glaze purchased online. Please don't scream.

In most Adobo recipes chicken is cooked with skin on. Nowadays I like to first grill chicken skin separately in an un-oiled non-stick pan until most of the chicken fat is released from the skin. Save the chicken fat for later use and add the degreased chicken skin to the intended dish. By doing that, I get to have the best of both worlds (well, hopefully). My guests can also decide for themselves whether to eat the skin or not, or like me, munching just a few bites gingerly.

Chicken Adobo

- 6 chicken thighs about 500 g, skin separated from the meat (optional step. Please refer to the instructions)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed with skin on (or off)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
- 4 green onions (optional)
- 1 tsp dried chilli powder (optional)
- boiling water
- 1/4 cup vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar glaze)
- brown sugar to taste

If you want to cook Adobo with the skin on, you can skip the first step. Otherwise, in a un-oiled pan, grill the chicken skin on medium-high heat until most fat is rendered. It will take about 15 minutes or so. Don't rush this process by using high heat, otherwise you may end up with burnt chicken skin with not much fat out. All good things take time. Be patient. When you see your pan is fully covered in yellow chicken fat and the chicken skin is nicely golden brown, it's time to stop. Save the rendered chicken fat for later use. Scoop out the crispy chicken skin and set aside.

Take a cooking vessel which can stand acid, put in chicken thighs, crispy skin, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorns, green onions and chilli powder. Add the boiling water just enough to submerge most chicken flesh. Bring the pot to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to very low, simmer the chicken pieces for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, the chicken should be quite tender. This is time to add vinegar. Bring the pot back to a boil. Simmer the pot uncovered for another 15-20 minutes until the cooking liquid is much reduced. Because of the chicken skin, the sauce should also look delectably shiny and slightly sticky (thanks to all the gelatin in the skin).  Taste at this stage, use brown sugar to tune your preferred balance between sourness and sweetness. You may also want to adjust with salt as well.

Serve with plain rice.