Tita Em’s Chicken Wings Adobo

Name: Tita Em’s Chicken Wings Adobo
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3/4 cup rice vinegar; 3/4 cup soy sauce; 6 to 8 cloves garlic, crushed; 3/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns; 2 bay leaves; 2 1/2 pounds chicken wings, tips removed and sectioned; 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 1/3 cup coconut milk

Recipe from King Phojanakong

Adapted by Jeff Gordinier

Tita Em’s Chicken Wings Adobo — Tina Fineberg for The New York Times

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Rating: 4(248)
Comments: Read comments

Tita Em is a nickname for Zosima Arceo Phojanakong, also known as Emma, who happens to be the mother of King Phojanakong, the chef at Kuma Inn on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Her background is Filipino, and Mr. Phojanakong’s recipe for chicken wings is a spin on something that his mother used to cook every week for her family when the chef was a boy: a whole chicken simmered in a silky, peppery adobo gravy. In Mr. Phojanakong’s version, that sauce gets extra creaminess from coconut milk. At Kuma Inn, the wings have become a signature dish. —Jeff Gordinier

Featured in: The Chicken Wings Boom

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

¾cup rice vinegar
¾cup soy sauce
6 to 8cloves garlic, crushed
¾teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2bay leaves
2½pounds chicken wings, tips removed and sectioned
¼cup vegetable oil
⅓cup coconut milk

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Preparation

Step 1
In a large saucepan, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Add 1¼ cups water and mix well. Add the chicken wings and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Step 2
Cover pan, place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove chicken from braising liquid and set aside on a rack to drain and dry.
Step 3
In a large skillet, heat the oil, add the wings and fry until golden brown.
Step 4
Return braising liquid to a boil. Add coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Add chicken wings, coat with sauce and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

248 user ratings

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Comments

Ben French7 years ago

Delicious. Make sure the oil is very hot before frying the wings, otherwise they stick to the pan.

Joanne7 years ago

I liked the wings and served it with coconut rice, but found the sauce unusable - way too vinegar-y and I felt like I completely wasted the coconut milk.

Adam5 years ago

Nice flavor but not too spicy or intense. I made a half recipe for 2 picky kids and they destroyed it. Instead of drying on a rack I put the wings into a convection oven at 300 for five minutes to dry out after the braise. It did the trick - the skins were crisp and flavorful and not gummy as reported by one other commentator. It also cut down on the frying time.

unkempt cook3 years ago

Added a tablespoon of hoisin and basil to the marinade and used around half a can of coconut milk tried to get all the good fat in there Was a different take on adobo and kind of loved it. Going to try and reduce the sauce all the way down to get it as a “dry” adobo like my mom does. Might also mess around and try and sous vide. All in all enjoyed this spin on adobo.

Megan R3 years ago

So good! The ingredients are so simple that changing the ratios was no problem. I did add extra coconut milk for creaminess, and a few thai chilis to the braise. Served over buttered rice with quick pickled radish and carrot.

AmyG3 years ago

Food52 says do the braise, then use your favorite buffalo wing combo sauce for the last step.

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