Chicken Adobo

Ingredients

8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup plus ¾ cup soy sauce, divided
1 pinch plus 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon raw sugar or demerara sugar
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and thinly sliced (about 15 cloves)
4 bay leaves
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups steamed white rice
4 scallions, green parts sliced on a diagonal

Directions

- Heat the oven to 350°F. Season the chicken with1/4 cup of the soy sauce and 1 pinch of the black pepper.

- In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Working in batches if necessary, sear the chicken, skin side down, for about 5 minutes, until the skin starts to brown and crisp. Transfer to a plate.

- In the Dutch oven, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and the remaining 3/4 cup of the soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of the black pepper; bring to a simmer. Return the chicken and accumulated juices to the pan skin side up. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Braise for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, but not falling apart. At this point, the garlic will also be very tender and there will be some chicken fat on the surface.

- Uncover and continue to braise in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the meat is very tender and the liquid has reduced to more of a glaze. Remove from the oven and skim the surface of the liquid to remove some of the fat that has accumulated.

- Serve the chicken over rice. Spoon extra sauce on top, if you like, then garnish with the scallions.