Crispy-Skin Chicken Adobo with Garlic Chips

Method

1. Slice the chip garlic evenly 1 to 2 mm thick. Put it in a 16 cm small pan with the oil while both are cold, turn on to medium-low heat and fry for 5 min, stirring. Lift it onto kitchen paper the moment it turns pale gold: it keeps darkening off the heat, and if you wait for brown it turns bitter. Keep the garlic oil.

   Add in this stepGarlic cloves for chips, thinly sliced 5Cooking oil 4 tbsp

   medium-low heat

2. Lay the chicken skin side up in a single layer in a 24 cm pot and add the soy sauce, vinegar, water, crushed garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Boil over high heat for 4 min to drive off the sharp vinegar smell (do not stir), then turn down to medium-low heat, cover and simmer for 30 min. It is done when a chopstick slides in easily, the meat comes away from the bone and the centre reaches at least 75°C.

   Add in this stepChicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on) 600 gSoy sauce 5 tbspCane vinegar (or rice vinegar) 5 tbspWater 200 mlGarlic cloves, crushed with the flat of a knife 6Black peppercorns, lightly crushed 1 tspBay leaves 2

   high heat→medium-low heat

3. Lift out the chicken and pat the skin thoroughly dry with kitchen paper. Heat 2 tbsp of the garlic oil in a 24 cm frying pan and lay the chicken in skin side down. Cook over medium heat for 6 min: press it down with a spatula at the start, then leave it alone until the skin is deep brown and crisp. If the pan is crowded, do it in two batches.

   medium heat

4. While the chicken crisps, fish the bay leaves out of the braising liquid, add the brown sugar and reduce over medium-high heat for 6 min. Turn off the heat when it has roughly halved and is glossy enough to coat the back of a spoon thinly.

   Add in this stepBrown sugar 1½ tsp

   medium-high heat

5. Spoon the sauce onto the plates first and set the chicken on top, skin side up; sauce poured over the skin will soften it. Scatter with the garlic chips, spring onions and chili and serve with jasmine rice.

   Add in this stepSpring onions, sliced 1Bird's eye chili, sliced (optional) 1Hot jasmine rice to taste