How to Cook Chicken Liver Adobo | Feastful Fork

Chicken Liver Adobo

I have a feeling that you are familiar with adobo, that is why you are here. I also feel that your interest is ticked by another Filipino adobo recipe that calls for chicken liver. You are in the right place. Locally called adobong atay ng manok in the Filipino language, chicken liver is a traditional favorite. Apart from the familiar adobo taste, chicken liver is also inexpensive and healthy.

How to Cook Chicken Liver Adobo | Feastful Fork

If you find the smell of liver or chicken liver specifically, strong, off-putting, or that it has a metallic taste, then adobo should be your best choice of recipe. Wait, if you do not like the smell of a food item, why would you cook it, right? Health reasons? Nutritional blahs? Peer pressure? Whatever reason is a good reason. What I want to say and share here is that adobo will give you the best taste of this internal organ without the liver’s off-putting smell (which of course, may be the other way around for others, including me), and without sacrificing its nutritional value. Why? The vinegar in any liver adobo helps in its strong smell and the same vinegar gives the dish the distinguishing adobo aroma and flavor. That said, there is no use soaking the liver in milk during prep time.

Ingredients:

• head of garlic — (minced and divided)
• onion (optional — (I will tell you why)
• black pepper corns
• salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• dark soy sauce
• white or brown sugar
• patis (fish sauce)
• bay leaves (optional)
• green serrano chilis (optional)
• green onions (toppings)
• crunchy garlic bits as toppings

How to cook chicken liver adobo

I have seen and tried different ways to cook this dish through the years. Although the differences are minor, I will share with you what I have observed and will give you the steps that my mom used when she cooked her version. That would make it easy for you to decide your ingredients and the process that you prefer:

1. Wash and drain chicken liver pieces. Dry them with paper towels, if necessary. Drying them ensures that the dish does not end up watery.
2. Put the livers in a pot. Add half a cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of whole pepper; add minced garlic to the same pot and simmer slowly over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the livers are half-cooked. Set aside.
3. Heat cooking oil in a separate pan. Add the remaining garlic and stir for no more than a minute. It is good enough when the tiny garlic pieces are limped; do not wait until they are golden brown as they have a tendency to immediately burn — yes, in seconds!
4. Add onions, if using. Alright, my promise to tell you why it is optional. There is no need to use onions in adobo. It usually makes the dish watery. On the other hand, if you prefer a rather wet (juicy?) version, you can add onions, but use just about a tablespoon of it — diced finely. You would want to make these onions disappear from sight; their purpose is to prevent the liver from becoming too dry.
5. Add the liver pieces to the pot, leaving its juice for a while. Stir and cook until all the juices are gone. Add soy sauce and stir again.
6. Add bay leaves and chilis — if using — and stir twice. Mom and I do not use bay leaves in our adobo. No particular reason except that in our opinion, the added taste of bay leaves deviates from the authentic taste of Filipino adobo. It is, of course, a matter of preference. Chilis are also optional as the adobo taste does not depend on the heat of the chilis. Chilis here is to add some kick to the taste. Do you know that it was surprising to me that there seem to be more Filipinos who are not fond of the chili heat? I have a number of close friends who do not prefer chili at all in all, yes all, their dishes.
7. Add salt and ground black pepper. Use salt sparingly, you might find that the soy sauce and vinegar combination has given the dish enough salt.
8. Add two tablespoons of the juice from pre-boiling the chicken liver. Alternatively, ditch that juice, and add two tablespoons of vinegar and a tablespoon of fish sauce to the pot. Do not stir until it boils. Maintain on medium heat.
9. Add brown sugar and stir once. Simmer over medium-low heat until most of the juices evaporate, about five minutes. You already achieved it when the liver looked crispy on the side, and still kind of pregnant in the middle.
10. Serve with crunchy garlic slices or sliced green onions as toppings.
11. Best served over steamed rice or alongside egg-fried rice.