CHICKEN-ADOBO - Filipino chicken with garlic

2 lb chicken pieces, cut up or whole
1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped (yes, an entire
head!)
4 Tbsp soy sauce (or more to taste)
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups water
1/2 cup vinegar (rice vinegar or white wine vinegar work
best)
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp cooking oil

(1) Put vinegar, bay leaves, pepper, soy sauce, and
water in a saucepan. Cover and cook slowly about
15 minutes.

(2) Meanwhile, heat the cooking oil in a large,
heavy-bottomed frying pan. Peel the garlic, break
the cloves into chunks, and brown them over
medium-low heat (about 5 minutes).

(3) Add the chicken to the frypan and brown it over
medium-high heat (about 5 minutes).

(4) Add the broth to the frypan and simmer, partly
covered, until the chicken is done (about 30
minutes). Do not let it come to a boil.

(5) Remove the bay leaves and serve over rice. This
dish is too strongly flavored to go well with
wine; try serving it with beer.

Notes.

DIFFICULTY RATE: Easy

WARNINGS:

You can substitute pork for the chicken, or mix the two. In
the Philippines it is the custom to marinate the meat for
two days rather before simmering; with the top-grade meats
that are universally available in our grocery stores, that
is not necessary (though it does deepen and enrich the fla-
vor). To marinate the chicken, mix in the broth and 3 of
the garlic cloves after step 1, then put the chicken in a
glass dish and pour the marinade over it.

> Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines. Most warm-
weather countries have through the centuries developed
recipes that preserve food while flavoring it. This dish is
different than many because of its strong component of vine-
gar. It is at once sour, salty, and drenched in garlic.

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