Estofado is just like cooking adobo and it becomes more flavorful when it is a day-old or two. More on the sweeter side, the recipe I grew up with has pineapple juice and anisado wine or anisette.
And it involves a lot frying before especially when its pork estofado. Though one can do away with the frying but it wont be the same.
Here's the recipe for Chicken Estofado
Ingredients
- 1 kilo chicken cuts, (drumstick, chicken chops, drummette, wings, etc)
- 5 pcs. canned pineapples slices
- 6 pcs. saba or plantains, halved
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Oil for frying, optional
Sauce
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- 1/2 cup anisado wine, optional
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 3 pcs bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
- 6 gloves garlic,
- 2 cups water
Procedure
- Fry chicken, bananas and pineapple separately then set aside. This portion is optional.
- If you wish not to fry, you can marinate the chicken in the sauce mix for around 30 minutes.
- In a pot, mix all the "Sauce" ingredients and let the mixture boil for around 10 minutes. If the chicken is not fried, be sure to remove the impurities that will form on the surface The measurements of the "Sauce" ingredients are just guides, you can adjust it to fit your taste as you continue cooking.
- Layer the fried chicken, bananas and pineapples on top of the sauce with the fruits on top.
- Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes r until chicken is tender.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
As I always say, you can always tweak the recipe above by adding or deleting ingredients as well as increasing or decreasing the amounts specified in the recipe. Taste what you are cooking from tiem to time and make adjustments as you go along before you serve it. Enjoy!