Simmering chicken adobo at the moment. I'm trying a new recipe pulled from the nytimes website article about a restaurant in Brooklyn that makes it with coconut milk and hot peppers. 1 cup of coconut milk, to be exact, and a chili called bird's eye that I've never heard of before. I'm interested. The recipe as well asks that I use 12 whole garlic cloves. Now I've seen an entire stinking rose used in a pork adobo with great success. To use this amount in chicken adobo will indeed be an adventure. Heat from chili is another novelty that I'm mildly skeptical about, yet willing to try. Instead of 3 chilis, however, I opted to add 1 chili, and chose a serrano. I'll have to do some investigating about this bird's eye chili. Perhaps this type of pepper in found in Pacific island nations like the Philippines, for instance. It's all going to be a big surprise.
The chicken is cooked and appears to be a success. I have taken the pieces out of the pot and am not cooking down the sauce in order to thicken it into a creamy gravy. I think this may take about 20 minutes or thereabout. Vinegar is the prevalent kitchen smell at this moment:
My conclusion - chicken adobo made with hecka garlic and coconut milk is delicious. You get the same vinegar based sauce made rich by the added fat from the coconut. It indeed retains the taste and smell of the national dish of the Philippine Islands, and then some. The only thing I would do is add more chili peppers. One was not enough. Three would be a good number. I must discover what these bird's eye chili peppers are. This was a very simple dish to make, all told. I of course marinated the bird overnight, but I did not taste much of a difference from the long marinade. 2 hours would work just fine. I like the pictures I took, with white balance. Looks almost exactly like what the eye sees. I like writing about cooking. I think I'll do this more often, with the added benefit of pictures. Feels right. I'm stuffed, like chicken.
