Here we go, week one of summer break! Yeehaw!
So far I have cleaned up the apartment, baked some amazing muffins, ate said muffins, gone running (felt bad about the muffins), read my new book, and showered. I may or may not have paced a few times, too.
Break is hard for me. Don't be mad. I just really like to be busy, and it's hard having three months off with no daily routine. So I usually keep myself busy by cooking or baking, and then sitting around. Watch me gain the "Teacher Fifteen"...haha.
I'm thinking about making this delicious chicken dish this week to keep myself busy. This has become my new go-to chicken recipe, probably because it's a Philippine classic and as we all know, I do love me some Asian food. The chicken is cooked in a very flavorful soy/coconut milk sauce, making it really juicy and tender, and then transfered to the broiler to give it a nice crispy outside. Maybe I can even twist Husband's arm into grilling the chicken at the end...yum!
This recipe calls for a whole chicken cut into 8 pieces, but you can always use different parts of the chicken depending on what you like. I would also highly suggest using low-sodium soy sauce; there's a fair amount of salt in the sauce already.
Okay, go get 'em! And please, intervene if you see me doing anything crazy over here. I'm already losing it and I've only been on summer break for 3 days.
Chicken Adobo
By Mark Bittman
1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups light coconut milk, divided
1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into 8 pieces
Add the first six ingredients and half of the coconut milk to a Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Place chicken in one layer on the bottom, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover. Cook chicken until almost done, about 20 minutes. Turn once or twice while cooking to get both sides immersed in the soy mixture.
Turn the broiler on to medium heat and set rack about 4 inches under the heat source. Remove chicken from the Dutch oven, dry gently with paper towels, and place on a baking sheet. Add the rest of the coconut milk to the soy mixture and boil until reduced to about 1 cup. Discard bay leaves and keep sauce warm. Broil chicken until brown and crisp, turning to brown both sides. Serve chicken and sauce over rice.
