Chicken Adobo sa Buko (Young Coconut)

I was looking for a recipe for a savory dish using young coconut (buko), and I was intrigued by this one. One can buy fresh buko in some oriental supermarkets here in the D.C. area, but you'd need to crack it open with a cleaver, which I didn't want to do. I used instead frozen buko juice drink, and I found a couple of brands with good bits of buko in them. Both had added sugar though, and I should have omitted the sugar called for in the recipe, but it skipped my mind. So, my adobo came out a little bit on the sweet side, but it was still delicious, especially with steamed rice. The finished dish is very pale, and doesn't look anything like our typical Philippine adobo, but it had just the right amount of vinegary taste, as any good adobo should.

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken pieces, skin on

5 pandan leaves, washed and knotted

1 1/2 cups coconut water

1 whole garlic bulb, cloves peeled and smashed

1 thumb-sized ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

1/2 cup vinegar

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon sugar

12-15 whole peppercorns

2 tablespoons canola oil, for frying

Meat from 1 young coconut, scraped out using a spoon

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Clean the chicken well and remove excess skin and fat.

Combine the other ingredients (except oil and coconut meat) in a heavy-bottomed pot. Arrange chicken pieces in the liquid in one layer, skin side up. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour without stirring (to keep the skin intact).

Carefully scoop out the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a sauté pan, and sear the chicken pieces until nicely browned. Set aside and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

Continue simmering the sauce until reduced to about 1 cup and slightly thickened. Strain and discard the solids. Return the strained sauce to the pot, and add the coconut meat; cook until heated through, 4 to 5 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper seasoning.

Two recommended ways to serve:  (1) Carefully return the chicken pieces to the thickened sauce and serve in a rimmed platter with steamed rice on the side; or (2) place the browned chicken pieces in a platter, put the sauce in a bowl on the side, and serve with steamed rice.