Grilled Filipino Chicken

Okay – we’re headed back to my roots, here! As many of you know, I’m half Filipino and if there’s one thing we know about, it’s food! I truly gained my love of cooking and all things delicious from my Filipina Mama who is one of the best cooks I know.

This is a slight variation of her Chicken Adobo which is typically made by boiling with onion and is usually made with whole pieces of chicken or pork. If you’re interested in the original version, let me know. Since I’m trying to lighten it up, I thought I’d try grilling chicken breasts and using a similar marinade to what we use.

I made this with friends who absolutely raved about it and wanted to try it next grilling a pork loin – it’s great this way, too!

Hope you enjoy a little bit of my heritage!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 bay leaves, torn or crushed
4 T reduced sodium soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, finely grated

2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp finely ground black pepper
¼ tsp of crushed red pepper flakes
4 oz. 7-Up or Sprite
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preparation:

In sealable container or large plastic resealable bag, combine all ingredients except chicken and mix. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the marinade for basting during grilling.

Place chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours. The longer, the better!

Remove chicken and transfer the pieces to a large plate, discard used marinade.

Preheat your grill to 350 degrees or medium heat. Grill chicken for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Baste every few minutes and cook until no longer pink.

Remove chicken from grill, tent with foil, and let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

We served ours with grilled pineapple and rice (white rice, with soy sauce – some things you just don’t mess with). To grill pineapple, slice and place on the heated grill during the last 5 or so minutes while the chicken is cooking. Flip pieces when they have that pretty grill mark on them.