Adobo is what reminds me of home, of family. I love the tanginess of the vinegar complimented by the salty richness of the soy sauce. Add in pepper, garlic and onion– yum!
Filipino adobo is usually made with bone in chicken or pork, though it can be made with even seafood or purely vegetables. Its primary ingredients are soy sauce, vinegar and peppercorns.
While a bone in chicken definitely improves the overall flavor of this dish, I don’t always have bone in chicken randomly laying around. What I did have was way too much chicken breast and decided to try this adobo recipe in the Instant Pot to cut down on cook time.

Dump everything into the Instant Pot. If you find the water level too low, you can double the amount of liquids. It will vary on how large your chicken breasts are.
Set the Instant Pot to high or manual pressure for 20 minutes. Allow to naturally release for at least 10 minutes.


Open lid carefully, remove chicken and shred with a fork.

You can chicken the sauce here if desired. Set to saute and add 2 tbsp water mixed with 3 tsp of cornstarch. Allow to thicken for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Add chicken back to Instant Pot and mix well.

Serve over rice.
This makes a lot, enough for probably a dozen people. We ended up having adobo sandwiches, adobo for breakfast, etc. It’s almost better the day after as it soaks up all the juices!
Filipino Shredded Chicken Breast Adobo
Chicken breast cooked under tender with soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns, garlic and onion.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 4-5 cloves garlic sliced or minced
- 1 onion chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
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Add all ingredients to the pot.
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Close lid, set to sealing, and cook on manual or high pressure for 20 minutes.
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Allow to natural release for at least 10 minutes.
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Open lid, add butter and shred chicken with fork.
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If you’d like to thicken the sauce, set on saute mode and mix together 2 tbsp water and 3 tsp of cornstarch. Add to sauce and allow to simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes. Sauce will naturally thicken a bit while sitting, as well.
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