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Skillet Chicken Adobo with Coconut Rice. A one-skillet Filipino-inspired chicken in a tangy, sweet, and spicy adobo sauce served over creamy coconut rice. I make mine with pineapple and jalapeños for a sweet-spicy kick. The creamy coconut rice wonderfully compliments the tangy, sweet, and spicy adobo sauce. Add fresh avocado and a side of beans for the perfect healthy dinner, any night of the week.
Everyone always asks where I get recipe inspiration from. And while I get it from just about everywhere, my number one source is my family. It could be a recipe they’re wanting or a dish they had out one night. No matter where their inspiration comes from, I love to cook for them, and cook what they want to eat.
Hail’s (Red’s girlfriend) has been here since before Dew Tour in December. She’s Filipino and I’m always asking her what to make when she’s around. Adobo came up up the other week and I loved the idea of a simple skillet dinner.
I asked how her mom made it. Then we kind of went back and forth on a few changes/additions to hopefully make it even more delicious. This isn’t quite a traditional adobo, but similar and very delicious. Hail’s fully approved.
Here are the details
The amazing thing about chicken adobo is that it’s naturally a one skillet kind of dinner. Meaning, this is so simple and doesn’t require too many ingredients.
Ideally, you want to use chicken thighs for best flavor and to avoid any dry chicken. However, if your family is like mine, you can also use chicken breasts, or even a mix.
You’ll want to first sear the chicken, then add soy sauce and vinegar. The vinegar is what adds the tang to the sauce. It’s traditional to use brown sugar too, but since we wanted ours to be less sweet, I just used a small amount of honey.
Once the chicken is seared, add the sauce, then toss in the bay leaves. For some spice, we love to throw in a jalapeño. It’s heat really mellows out as the pepper cooks in the sauce, adding just the right amount of spice. Not too spicy, but just right.
At the end of cooking, stir in the pineapple chunks. This is also not traditional, but so yummy. Especially with the jalapeño, it really balances the flavors nicely.
The coconut rice
While the chicken simmers on the stove. Make the coconut rice. We love coconut rice around here. It’s creamier and with just a small amount of coconut flavor it pairs really well with Asian style dishes.
A little cilantro and pinch of salt at the end makes everything just perfect. Then serve the chicken and rice with sliced avocado and cucumber.
Everyone in my family has agreed, they could easily eat this once or twice a week. The chicken is tender, and the sauce is everyone’s favorite – spicy, sweet, and tangy.
The rice completes it all!
Looking for other skillet recipes? Here are my favorites:
Lemon Butter Dijon Chicken and Orzo
French Onion Tater Tot Casserole
Greek Meatballs and Lemon Butter Orzo
Lastly, if you make this Skillet Chicken Adobo with Coconut Rice, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Skillet Chicken Adobo with Coconut Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 619 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup tamari, or low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoons honey, use to your taste
- 1-2 jalapeños, seeded, if desired, and sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 dried bay leaves
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- sliced avocado, cucumber, and green onions, for serving
Coconut Cilantro Rice
- 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- 1. Season the chicken all over with black pepper. In a large glass measuring cup, combine the tamari/soy sauce, vinegar, honey, and 1/2 cup of water.2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, about 4-5 minutes per side.3. Add the garlic, cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and pour in the soy sauce mixture. Add the jalapeños and bay leaves. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, uncover and cook another 10-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the pineapple. 4. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Serve the chicken adobo over rice. Top each plate with avocado, green onions, jalapeños, and cucumber.
Coconut Rice
- 1. Combine the coconut milk and 1/2 cup water in a medium pot. Bring to a low boil. Add the rice and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, cover, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook 10 minutes on low, then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit, covered, for another 15-20 minutes (don't take any peeks inside!). 2. Remove the lid, add the cilantro, and pinch salt. Fluff the rice with a fork.
This was delicious but I would omit the pineapple – the sweetness overtook the other great flavors.
Yay!! Love to hear this Lesley:) Thanks so much for making this recipe and your message! Have a great week! xT
Delicious! Even better as leftovers the next day. The sweetness of the coconut rice was perfect with the tanginess of the adobo. I used crushed pineapple, and only added about 1/4 cup
Hey Blythe,
Happy Sunday! I am thrilled to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks a lot for trying it out! Xx
I am so sad! I just finished making this recipe and had to call my husband to bring take-out home so my family could have dinner! 😩. My rice is undercooked and my chicken is overcooked. Going into the garbage. Not sure how it turned out so wrong. I followed the instructions exactly.
Hi there,
So sorry to hear you had issues with this recipe! It’s hard for me to say without knowing more info, you said you followed the recipe exactly so this definitely shouldn’t have happened. Again, so sorry! xx
I am interested to try this! I also have some feedback or food for thought, if you will!
I’m all for a good twist on a classic, but I’m not sure that you saying your recipes are “even more delicious” than authentic ethnic dishes is landing the way you intend.
I feel like I often see this type of description happen with Asian inspired recipes, like anytime something is “better than takeout.”
Again, not necessarily knocking the recipe until I try it, but maybe encouraging you to be a bit more mindful with how you speak about ethnic, specifically Asian, cuisine.
This, like so many other recipes, looks so tasty, I will try it today.
I was wondering about the rice, do I wash it first?
Kind regards, Linda
Thanks so much Linda!! I do not wash my rice:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
I think this was a one and done in our house not terrible, but not my favorite Asian inspired rice bowl from Tieghan. The sauce does not thicken up, so I used some arrowroot powder as a thickening agent. The coconut rice was a hit and all the flavors together just were a bit of a miss for me.
Hey Autumn! I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe, thank you for the feedback! xT
We love a complete dinner in a bowl & this didn’t disappoint. The chicken was yummy ( I juiced some lime on top), but the rice didn’t turn out. I thought I cooked it as directed, but anyway, we salvaged the rice & throughly enjoyed the wonderful flavors.
Keep up the good work Tieghan!
Thank you, JKG
Hi! I’m so so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for trying it out! xT
Just made this and cannot get over how good it was! My husband is half Filipino and said he likes it better than the version his mom made growing up, lol.
Thank you so so much for giving the recipe a try! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
I made this for my parents & me and it was a hit! very simple ingredients, but so flavorful. will definitely be making again!
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! So happy to hear that you enjoyed it! xT
Have you ever used a rice cooker for the coconut rice?
Hey Katie! Yes, this rice will work well in the rice cooker! xT
For some reason, I didn’t expect this recipe to be anything special. I wasn’t excited to make it but was wanting a dish that had something other than chicken for a change. Well—OH my GOODNESS. This is probably one of my favorite recipes from T now! So flavourful you won’t even believe it and the coconut rice is such a nice balance to the strong taste of the sauce. I will be making this again and again and again! Seriously tastes like a restaurant meal. Thank you, T!
Hey Melissa,
Happy Sunday!!🍋☀️ I appreciate you trying this recipe out and your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xT
I am SO into this recipe!! The adobo is a lot easier than it seems and goes so well with coconut rice.
Hi Emily,
Happy Weekend!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it and your feedback! xT
A perfect blend of spicy, savory, sweet, and salty! Another hit in my household! Thank you for these delicious and uncomplicated recipes!
Hi Lara,
Thanks so much!! I love to hear that this recipe was delish and I appreciate you making it! xT
This was amazing and really easy to make! I always gravitate towards dinners with pineapple and this did not disappoint. I found it very flavorful, especially with all the added fresh toppings. I was worried it would be too spicy, but used 2 jalapeños that were deseeded and it was good spice level. Will make again!
Hey Chelsea,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it:) xT
Absolutely delicious. Will make again and again.
Hey Danica,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad it was delish! Have a great weekend:) xx
Got a delicious sear on the chicken. I used breasts. The sauce was rather bland for us even with two jalapenos. Added a lot of Sriracha to my finished dish. Next time I will ramp up the heat more. TY for the recipe.
Hey Mary,
Happy Wednesday!! 🍉🍓 Thanks a bunch for testing out this recipe, I’m so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xT