Thursday, June 10, 2010

Adobo Chicken Salad

I've found a great Filipino restaurant near me, so I've been hooked on adobo chicken. Figured why not give it a try on the grill. Another thing that the wife and I have been digging is the salad from Chipotle and Qdoba - basically rice, bean, meat, and romaine lettuce. This is my attempt to do both which works surprisingly well. Rich, salty, and vinegary chicken with the sweet grilled onions and corns. Add to that the crunchy romaine and the satisfying rice and you got a great summer meal.

Grilled Chicken Adobo Salad
Ingredients
Chicken thighs rinsed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tbsp oyster sauce
6 cloves garlic crushed
romaine lettuce sliced into bite sized pieces
4 ears sweet corn shucked
2 vidalia onions sliced 1 inch horizontally
Peanut Oil
Salt and White Pepper
Cooked white Asian rice (or short grain)

1) Combine chicken, garlic, soy, vinegar, and oyster sauce in a ziploc bag. Marinate at least an hour.
2) Set up three zones on your grill if you can. One Medium heat, one low heat, and one off zone. On a clean grill over medium heat, rub grates with some oil to prevent sticking.
3) Coat corn in oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium part of grill until corn gets lightly charred - nice and browned, but not completely blackened. About 5-7 minutes with frequent turning. Remove from grill and remove kernels.
4) Toss onions with peanut oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on the medium part of the grill. About 5-7 minutes until it's soft and sweet. You may need to use a vegetable grill grate to make sure it doesn't fall through the grates. Remove and keep with the corn.
5) Take chicken out of the marinade and pat chicken down with some paper towels. Place skin side down. Reduce marinate down 80-90%. Reserve.
6) Be careful to watch for flare ups and don't move it otherwise you won't get the nice grill marks.
7) After 7-10 minutes, flip the chicken over. You may need to move the chicken off to a low zone if it's burning up to quick. The key is to really watch the grill and chicken constantly to make sure you have control.
8) Cook for probably another 5-7 minutes but keep checking. I was doing the poke test to check if the chicken was done, but you could probably use a thermometer. Thighs should be about 170F or if you push the meat it should be slightly firm to the touch - not squishy. Another check is if you pick the chicken up the juices should run clear - if there's any blood throw it back on the grill. Chicken skin should be crispy.
9) When finished take the chicken out and drop in the reduced marinade skin side up. Let it sit for 3 minutes.
10) Add lettuce to the onions and corn. Shred chicken meat and add to the salad. Drizzle the marinade over. Serve on top of cooked white rice. Buono appetito!

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