Sugar-Free Chicken Adobo (Thighs)

Chicken adobo is one of those pots that makes the whole house smell like dinner: shoyu, vinegar, a lot of garlic, bay leaf, and black pepper. Plenty of versions add brown sugar. This one does not need it. The thighs simmer until tender, the sauce cooks down until it clings, and cauliflower rice soaks up what rice usually would.

I’m Mark. This is my weeknight version, built from what is already in a Costco and Foodland cart. It is mostly hands-off once the lid goes on, and I like it even more the next day. If you want a creamier thigh dinner from the same pack, make the coconut-milk chicken thighs with bok choy.

Yield: 4 servings  |  Prep: 10 minutes  |  Cook: 40 minutes  |  Total: about 50 minutes

Hawaii Grocery Notes

• Costco: boneless skinless chicken thighs in the multi-pack. Freeze what you will not cook this week. Avocado oil. Frozen cauliflower rice when they have it; stock varies.
• Foodland / Times: shoyu (read the label and pick one with no sugar or corn syrup). Distilled white or apple cider vinegar. Garlic, bay leaves, whole black peppercorns, green onion. A head of cauliflower to rice yourself, or bagged cauliflower rice in produce or the freezer case.
• Don Quijote: more shoyu and vinegar choices. Read labels and skip anything with added sugar, including seasoned vinegars and bottled adobo marinades.
• No rice. No brown sugar. No cornstarch slurry.

Ingredients

• 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, patted dry, big fat pieces trimmed
• Black pepper
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 8 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped

Braising liquid

• ⅓ cup shoyu (or tamari; coconut aminos works, see notes)
• ½ cup distilled white or apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, lightly cracked

Cauliflower rice

• 1 lb cauliflower rice (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Pinch of salt, to taste (the sauce is salty)

To finish

• 2 green onions, sliced
• Chili pepper water at the table (optional)

Instructions

1. Pepper the thighs on both sides. Skip the salt; the shoyu brings plenty.
2. Heat the avocado oil in a Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high until it shimmers. Lay the thighs in smooth side down and brown 4-5 minutes, then flip and give them 2-3 minutes more. Work in two batches if the pan is crowded. Move them to a plate.
3. Drop the heat to medium. Stir the garlic into the fat for 30-60 seconds, until it smells good but has not browned.
4. Add the shoyu, vinegar, water, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Let it bubble uncovered for 1-2 minutes; it softens the sharp edge of the vinegar.
5. Return the thighs and any juices. Cover and keep it at a low simmer 20-25 minutes, turning the thighs once, until they are tender and the thickest piece reads at least 165°F.
6. Move the thighs to a plate. Turn the heat up and boil the sauce uncovered 5-8 minutes, until it turns glossy and coats a spoon. Fish out the bay leaves. Return the thighs and turn them in the sauce.
7. While the sauce reduces, melt the butter in a wide skillet over medium-high. Add the cauliflower rice and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring, until tender and no longer wet. Taste before you salt it.
8. Cauliflower rice on the plate, thighs on top, sauce spooned over everything, green onion to finish. No rice. The cauliflower takes the sauce just fine.

Kitchen-Estimate Macros (per serving)

Kitchen estimates only, not lab-tested. Calculated for 1 of 4 servings (about 8 oz raw thigh, a quarter of the sauce, a quarter of the cauliflower rice). Bay leaves are removed. Thigh trim varies; untrimmed thighs run higher in fat and calories.

Calories	Fat	Protein	Net carbs
~385	~16 g	~49 g	~7 g

Notes

• Hidden sugar: some bottled adobo marinades, seasoned vinegars, and some shoyu. Read the label before it goes in the cart.
• Greens instead of cauliflower rice: sauté 1 lb baby bok choy in the same butter for 3-4 minutes. That runs about 2 g lower in net carbs per serving.
• Bone-in, skin-on thighs: they work too. Give them 30-35 minutes under the lid. Fat and calories run higher than the numbers above.
• Coconut aminos instead of shoyu: sweeter and less salty, and it adds about 3 g net carbs per serving. Taste the sauce before you reduce it.
• Crispy edges: after the sauce step, set the sauced thighs under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Watch them closely.
• Leftovers keep 3-4 days in the fridge. Reheat gently, covered, with a spoon of water.
• Same Costco thigh pack as the coconut-milk thighs. Buy once, cook both in a week. Want crunch instead of sauce? Try the pork-rind chicken katsu.
• Want a glaze instead of a braise from the same thigh pack? Make the sugar-free teriyaki chicken thighs.

Mark Souza
Honolulu