Chicken Estufao

The short and easy way to say the name of this is "stew-fow".  It's a traditional Guam dish and is easy as can be, packed with yummy salty tangy goodness. It's great for evenings when you don't have a lot of time but want something warm and satisfying. 

This was the first thing I learned to cook from my Mother-in-law who is an amazing cook by the way. I hope it warms your heart and tummy the way it has ours so many times over.     

 

What you'll need

Since I have a family of six this recipe will feed 6-8 people.  If you are serving less people then feel free to half it. 

Ingredients:
16 pieces of chicken
1 med. onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced*
1 1/2 cups soy sauce
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
4 Tablespoons cooking oil
*(if you do not have garlic cloves handy you may substitute with 3 teaspoons of garlic powder added with the salt and pepper)

Step 1 mince your garlic

Step 2 chop your onion

First mince your garlic cloves and chop your onion. 

Step 3 sauté

Next heat the oil in large nonstick or enamel pan over medium high heat and sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.  If you don't have garlic cloves and are using garlic powder only sauté the onion here and add the garlic powder in the next step.

Step 4 brown

Add the chicken, salt and pepper (garlic powder if you are using it) to the pan and cook until the chicken is light brown but not cooked all the way through.  It will take about 10 minutes. We prefer chicken legs and thighs (dark meat) on the bone but if you like you can use boneless skinless white or dark meat or the whole chicken if you like.  

Step 5 simmer

Once chicken is browned drain the fat and add the soy sauce, vinegar and water and stir.  Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is done. Continue to stir the chicken while it cooks so each piece gets an equal amount of cooking time in the soy sauce.  You can tell the chicken is done when it starts to pull away from the bone and gets nice and brown.
  

We always serve this hot with sticky white rice and usually broccolli or green beans or snow peas.  Most importantly make sure you pour some of the soy sauce and vinegar broth over your rice and chicken.  This is what makes the dish so wonderful. 

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For the recipe card visit here