Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo Ramen
I grew up hardly knowing my own grandparents across the ocean, and it was just me, my parents, and my sister here in the States. But my parents' host mom—the woman who opened her home to them when they first arrived as immigrants—was from the Philippines and she continued to be a mother figure to my parents and a grandmother figure to me well after my parents got settled. I call her Lola, the Filipino term for a grandma. So even though I am not Filipino, I grew up eating lots of chicken adobo during visits to my Lola’s house.
I remember my Lola's version of chicken adobo being more tangy/vinegary and more brothy than other versions I've had at restaurants as an adult. There was something about that soy and vinegar sauce that was always so appetizing; the kind of thing that you have to reawaken your tastebuds when you don’t think you feel like eating. I felt I could drink it by the bowlful! Which is why I developed this fusion recipe where the chicken adobo braising liquid becomes the base for a noodle soup.
The key steps to making this recipe are:
Browning the chicken. This renders out the excess fat from the chicken skin, giving you a glorious schmaltz that will be used later.
Braising the chicken in a slow cooker. I opted to go the slow cooker route to keep the recipe low maintenance. The browned chicken thighs are given a chance to soak up the flavors from a braising liquid made up of soy sauce, vinegar, lots and lots of garlic, and black peppercorns.
Making the broth. Blending together the strained braising liquid and all that soft garlic creates an emulsified broth that is rich and almost creamy. It has a much more concentrated flavor than a traditional soup ramen.
Frying the garlic chips. That saved chicken fat goes into making the most delicious garnish of fried garlic chips, which in turn infuses the chicken fat with some of that garlic flavor.
Frying the egg. Inspired by Filipino silog, I decided this ramen needs to get topped with a beautiful fried egg.
Boiling the noodles and assembling the bowl. I chose to keep the thigh whole but you can also shred it up before serving if you don’t want the recipients to have to maneuver with the bone.
Finally, that schmaltzy goodness from before gets drizzled over the whole bowl as a finishing touch at the end.
Click here to get the recipe on the Pete and Gerry’s site!
Thank you so much to Pete and Gerry’s for sponsoring this recipe!