Filipino Chicken Adobo

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each cut in half into two equal pieces
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 2 tsp. garlic puree
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 small onion, sliced in large slices
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Pinch of ground Chipotle chile pepper, optional

Directions

1. Trim away any fat or bits you do not want from the chicken breasts, then slice each breast on the diagonal so you have two pieces of similar size. Stir together the soy sauce, vinegar, water, garlic, bay leaves, onion, pepper, and Chipotle pepper, if you are using it, to make the Adobo mixture.
2. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in a heavy frying pan that fits the pieces snugly. Pour the Adobo mixture over the top and cook at the gentlest simmer you can manage for 10 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces, then continue cooking for 10-15 minutes more, only until the chicken is just cooked through.
3. Pour the cooking liquid through a strainer to take out the onion and bay leaves. A fat separator with a yogurt strainer set over it works well here.
4. Transfer the strained sauce to a small pan and boil it down until it is thick enough to just coat a spoon. Taste as it reduces so the flavor stays balanced and does not become overly strong.
5. Warm the olive oil in a heavy frying pan, add the chicken, and brown the pieces very briefly on one side, taking care not to cook them longer than needed. Serve the chicken with some of the sauce spooned over the top.