This vegan adobo is a plant-based version of a classic Filipino dish. Chicken Adobo has grown to become one of our favorite go-to dishes, sparking offshoots like Pork Adobo (which is excellent on little mini sliders for a party, in case you ever wondered).
Naturally, I came to wonder how I could veganize it! And this vegan adobo with seitan “chick’n” is pretty brilliant if I do say so.
Meat Eaters Will Be Skeptical
The reason why Chicken Adobo is so delicious is because of the sticky unctuousness that comes from bone-in, skin-on chicken braising for a long time. It’s hard to recreate that symphony of fat, salt, and acid without, well…chicken fat.
When I floated the idea of a Vegan Chicken Adobo to the family, I got wrinkled noses and that “you’re young and on a fool’s errand” look from Sarah that I’ve been getting from her ever since she tricked me into “racing” her up the stairs to see who could carry the laundry up from the basement fastest. Yes. I’m not proud.
That said, I PROVED HER WRONG WITH THIS ONE!
Achieving Richness with Vegan Ingredients
So how do you mimic the taste of long simmered chicken fat without any chicken? The key is slowly sweated onions and garlic, which take on a deep sweetness and umami that infuses the whole dish. Our original recipe has no onion, but this is key for the vegan version.
The other crucial addition is the best thick coconut milk you can find. Now is not the time for low fat or, I hate to say it, non-Asian brands. There is a big difference from your mainstream grocery store generic and a good old can of Aroy-D coconut milk for some reason.
Most traditional versions of adobo don’t use coconut milk. However, it is a regional Filipino variation that we love. The additional fat is also necessary for this vegan version.
The other secret is browning the seitan before you add it to the sauce, and simmering the sauce without the seitan, so that it doesn’t get too salty from sitting in the sauce for too long.
Now there’s nothing holding you back from those good vegan fats!
What Is Cane Vinegar?
You’ll notice that this recipe calls for “cane vinegar,” which is made from sugar cane.
The brand we buy from our local Asian market is “Datu Puti,” which is pictured above. They also make some flavored vinegars, so made sure you’re buying the plain version. If you can’t find cane vinegar, you can also substitute regular distilled white vinegar or rice vinegar (AKA rice wine vinegar).
Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s cook!
Vegan Adobo: Recipe Instructions
Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, along with the onion and garlic. Saute until softened. The onions can crisp ever so slightly at the edges, but they shouldn’t take on too much color.
Add the coconut milk…
Along with the cane vinegar, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, bay leaf, and 2 dried red chili peppers.
Turn the heat down to a low simmer, and cook for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat another tablespoon of oil in a skillet (nonstick works great). Break up the seitan or cut it into desired shapes, and add it to the pan. Brown it until it’s golden all over.
Add the browned seitan to the sauce.
Stir it in, and cook for another 5 minutes.
Serve this rich adobo with steamed rice and chopped cilantro on top!
Vegan Adobo
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil (can use vegetable oil or coconut oil; divided)
- 1 large onion (halved and thinly sliced)
- 4 cloves garlic (peeled and smashed)
- 14 ounces coconut milk (make sure you're using a full-fat coconut milk, preferably a brand like Aroy-D)
- 3 tablespoons cane vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (you can also start with half this amount and adjust to taste)
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns; they're more traditional, but will have to be picked out)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 dried red chili peppers
- 8 ounces chicken-style seitan (or other vegan protein substitute of choice: tofu, oyster mushrooms, etc.)
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped, optional)
Instructions
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, along with the onion and garlic. Saute until softened. The onions can crisp ever so slightly at the edges, but they shouldn’t take on too much color.
- Add the coconut milk, cane vinegar, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, bay leaf, and 2 dried red chili peppers. Turn the heat down to a low simmer, and cook for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat another tablespoon of oil in a skillet (nonstick works great). Break up the seitan or cut it into desired shapes, and add it to the pan. Brown it until it’s golden all over. Add it to the sauce, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Serve with steamed rice and chopped cilantro on top, if using.
I have tried Vegan Filipino Chicken Adobo. This recipe has become a staple in our home. Thank you!! Quick question, does this freeze well? If You want to Read the Recipe of Freeze Vegan Adobo. Visit: https://kitchenvio.com I Have Tried to Cover Every thing in this.
Glad you like it Emily!
This is wonderful – I addmushrooms to the pan when I am cooking the seitan, and cook green beans separately and throw on top of each bowl before serving.
Sounds amazing, David!
Have had it twice at dinner gatherings and was really popular with everyone. Love it!
Yay, that’s great! Thanks for commenting. ^_^
this is super-delicious! I used half (homemade) seitan and half dried bean curd knots (soaked for 20 minutes before adding to braise with the browned seitan). SO good over jasmine rice!
Hi Diane, I love that combination! I’m still delinquent on my homemade seitan game. Would love your go-to recipe if you have one! :)
Would you please kindly post up a pic or type in the Chinese words for Setian? I’ve been to my Chinese grocery store but just don’t know what to look for. I’m a newbie vegan so just learning I guess. Thanks!
Hi C.C., you will find it all in the tofu section. The ones that we labeled are often labeled in English too. “Vegan chicken” and “seitan”. We have purchased the Nature’s Soy brand in the past! Hope that helps.
Filipinos have a vegan option for this which also uses soy sauce, vinegar, onion, garlic, peppercorn, & bay leaf. We have adobong bb8 kangkong, adobong sita, adobong taking, and my adobong okra which I love so much. I don’t know if any Filo’s cooked adobong okra too but it’s so yummy.
Sorry I didn’t looked at the typo before sending it, ridiculous spelling corrector.
*adobong kangkong, adobong sitaw, adobong talong*
Yummmm OKRA! I love okra, that sounds like it would turn out great.
We actually have adobong sitaw (string beans) and kangkong as vegetarian variants.
Yes, many people have been mentioning! Sounds delicious ^_^
Adobo is actually a cooking technique when you cook with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and pepper. When we you use it for vegetables we usually use long beans or eggplants; just on type of vegetable but not a mix of different vegetables and without coconut milk.
If you love cooking with coconut milk, I suggest you try this Filipino recipe of squash, beans and shrimp, http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/sugpo-kalabasa-at-sitaw-sa-gata-a-la-marketman. I prefer the squash to be overcooked and mushy with lots of coconut milk.
Hi Ion, just cooked that exact ginataan last night, next time ginataang alimasag.
Thanks, Ion for the tip!
That’s something I never tried. Got recipe for my dinner tonight. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Mark!