Slow Cookin' II - Chicken Adobo

I woke up this morning craving my college roommate's chicken adobo. The last time I had it was in September when I was visiting her back east. I had followed her around the kitchen with my pen and notepad in hand, writing down everything she did -even having her measure when she ordinarily wouldn't have. I have that recipe around here...somewhere. I tried to recall how she made it, but I could only remember bits and pieces. One thing I clearly knew, was that I'd be in the kitchen for a while. Today wasn't one of those Sundays. Sure, I had the craving, but I wasn't quite inspired to try my first hand at it the old fashioned way. Today was going to be a lazy Sunday, I could already tell.

I decided to look up some slow cooker recipes and tweak them a bit, like adding carrots and mushrooms. I know it's not traditional adobo, but hey, I like it. I was sure it wouldn't be the same as sauteing onions and browning the chicken, but I was hoping to get close enough to satiate my craving.

I put the ingredients in the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it go. In the meantime, I was left free to do the dishes, take out the trash, and sort through two weeks of mail. I even had time to get a little writing done and relax with a cup of tea while catching up with an old friend over the phone. Oh, yeah, and I had time to make a few paper cranes. Yes, I said paper cranes. (I'm helping a friend make some for a wedding.)

Put the following in slow cooker and cook on high for approx. 4 hours. I've come to realize that not all crockpots cook at the same level so I tried to check on doneness after about three hours, making any adjustments to salt, acidity, etc.

1 lb chicken pieces, no skin
3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 large cloves garlic, crushed with the flat of a knife, and chopped
3-4 bay leaves, crushed
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp brown sugar
7-8 carrots, peeled and cut in large pieces
3-4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and quartered
12 oz. package mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 large onion, chopped

After several views of a youtube video, I think I finally got it down right.



Results: definitely not as good as hers, but not bad for a first try!