Covid season is finally over (thank God winter’s done), and we’re finally back to hosting friends in our home. When I’m hosting Filipino friends, one of my favorite recipes to prepare is my chicken adobo – party style, called Instant Pot Party Chicken Adobo. It’s different from the usual adobo because it’s more stylized. The sauce from the regular chicken adobo is blended and served as a side, like gravy.
It’s the perfect party recipe because you can make it ahead, the day before, and it still tastes good. Adobo is one of those dishes that even gets better as it ages. It tastes good the next few days, just like it was made the first day.
Mix the sauce ingredients in the Instant Pot. 
Place the chicken on top of the onions and sauce.
For the Instant Pot Party Chicken Adobo, I pressure cook the chicken in the Instant Pot the day before. I take out the chicken, let it cool, and store it in the refrigerator. The remaining sauce that’s left in the Instant Pot is blended in my food processor. You can use a blender too. I store the blended sauce separately in the refrigerator as well once it’s cooled.
Blend the sauce. 
Broil the chicken.
On the day of the party, I take out the chicken and the sauce containers beforehand so it can come to room temperature. An hour before the party, I broil the chicken for 10 minutes. I then heat the sauce in the microwave. I place the sauce in my ceramic chafing dish that has a tealight candle underneath to keep the food warm. I place the broiled chicken on top. The Party Chicken Adobo keeps warm until it’s ready to eat!
Serve the sauce at the bottom, chicken on top. 
Serve on chafing dish so it remains heated until ready to eat.
I’ve had rave reviews about this recipe and people are surprised that it’s actually Filipino adobo. It’s the perfect party recipe because you can make it ahead and simply broil the chicken on the day of the party and assemble it. Less stress for you as the host! Here are my chafing dishes that are perfect for small gatherings. I love that I only use a tealight candle below to heat it (which is available almost anywhere), unlike the large stainless steel chafing dishes for buffet that require some gel-type warmer to heat the food.
Galashield Chafing Dish Buffet Set Warming Tray, Oven Safe Glass DishesBuy now on Amazon
Buy now on Amazon
Instant Pot Party Chicken Adobo
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion sliced in rounds
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns slightly cracked
- 3 pcs dried bay leaves
- 1 lb chicken legs
- 1 lb chicken wings
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except for onions and chicken in the Instant Pot. Mix them all together.
- Place sliced onion rounds inside Instant Pot to line the bottom.
- Put the chicken on top of the sliced onion rounds.
- Close the lid. Make sure the pointer is in sealing position. Set Instant Pot to pressure cook for 10 minutes. Once done, let the pressure naturally release for at least 15 minutes. Then quick release the rest of the remaining pressure.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the Instant Pot. Place the remaining sauce mixture in a blender and food processor and process/blend.
- Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and place the chicken pieces on it, making sure there are spaces on the sides. Place in the oven. Broil for 10 minutes. Rotate the tray after 5 minutes to make sure all chicken pieces get broiled evenly.
- Place the 1/2 of the blended sauce at the bottom of your serving platter and the other half in a gravy boat.
- Place the broiled chicken pieces on top of the sauce in your serving platter. Serve with the sauce in the gravy boat as sauce on the side.
Notes
- Do steps 1 to 5 the day before the party, and then store the chicken and sauce in separate containers. Place in the refrigerator once cooled.
- On the day of the party, do steps 6 to 8. To heat sauce, simply microwave before serving.
