Chicken Adobo American Style

I have never met any Filipino or non-Filipino who did not like

From Chicken adobo with garlic rice

the taste of this easy to prepare savory dish. This is one of the few special dishes which kids and adults alike will want over and over again...

My husband has always loved this dish, he would even ask for the leftover to be included in his lunchpack for the next day! I have modified a bit to bend to the inkling of Americans to gravies and sauces, so I thickened the sauce a bit.

INGREDIENTS:
1 whole chicken, cut up
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
10 peppercorns, crushed (or use freshly milled pepper)
1-3 bay leaves

1/2 cup water (or as much as you would like your sauce to be; I like some extra for flavoring adobo fried rice for next day)
adjust taste with sugar and additional soy sauce if desired
water-cornstarch for thickening

PROCEDURE:
Mix all ingredients except chicken. Pour some into a big saucepan to cover surface, place the chicken pieces, then pour the rest of the mixture. Simmer covered for 10 minutes, turn the pieces over, then simmer for another 10 minutes. Uncover and turn heat up to reduce the sauce until chicken renders fat (careful not to scorch). Lower heat to medium high and brown chicken pieces. Add water to reconstitute the sauce. Adjust taste with sugar if desired (I add about 1-3 tbsp) and some soy sauce (or you can use salt). Thicken to desired consistency. Strain sauce to make it smoother if desired.

My husband loves the breast part, eaten with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. My kids like garlic fried rice instead of potatoes. My stepd likes plain rice with it.