Chef reacts to amateur trying to duplicate his restaurant's adobo chicken dish - Action News
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SaskatchewanCreator Network Video

Chef reacts to amateur trying to duplicate his restaurant's adobo chicken dish

Filmmaker and foodie Curtis McGillivray asked a chef to provide an ingredients list for a culturally significant dish, but no instructions. McGillivray then tried making the recipe.

Foodie Curtis McGillivray attempts to make authentic Filipino dish without instructions

Filmmaker tries to replicate Lumsden, Sask., restaurateurs traditional adobo chicken recipe in this reaction video.

1 year ago
Duration 6:58
In this video for CBC's Creator Network, Regina filmmaker and foodie Curtis McGillivray makes adobo chicken as JP Vives, chef and co-owner of Free Bird Restaurant, reacts.

CBC Saskatchewan's Creator Networkis a place where young digital storytellers from diverse backgrounds can produce original video content to air on CBC and tell stories through their own lens. Get in touch or pitch your own story here.


Adobo chicken is a staple dish for many Filipino people. It's also a popular item on the menu of Free Bird Restaurant in Lumsden, Sask., about 20 minutes northwest of Regina.

Co-owner and chef JP Vives opened the restaurant in 2019 with his mother, Pam.

Filipino adobo chicken is traditionally made with braised chicken thighs and drumsticks, drenchedin a sauce made with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and pepper.

This is not to be mistaken for Mexican adobo sauce, which is made from dried chilies and spices.

Chef JP Vives shows off his special Adobo Chicken recipe at his restaurant, Free Bird, in Lumsden, Sask.
Chef JP Vives shows off his special adobo chicken recipe at his restaurant Free Bird in Lumsden, Sask. (Curtis McGillivray)

Vives wanted to put his own spin on the dish, so he added ginger to enhance the flavour of the comfort food staple.

Filmmaker and foodieCurtis McGillivray asked Vives to share thisrecipe for the latest instalment of his Creator Network video seriesCooking with Culture, where McGillivray tries his hand at a dish using only the ingredients but no instructions.

Filmmaker and foodie Curtis McGillivray grinds pepper into his Adobo Chicken sauce as chef JP Vives looks on.
Filmmaker and foodie Curtis McGillivray grinds pepper into his adobo chicken sauce as chef JP Vives looks on. Check out the full reaction video above to see how his version of the dish turned out. (Curtis McGillivray)

Free Bird Restaurant adobo chicken

Vives shared his full recipe and all the directionswith CBC, so you can make the delicious dish yourself at home.

(Serves four to eight people, depending on how much chicken you want to use.)

  • 2 to 4 chicken drumsticks.
  • 2 to 4chicken thighs.
  • 1.5 cups of soy sauce.
  • 2 cups of vinegar.
  • 2 cups of lime juice.
  • A quarter cup of berry preserve or jam (darker the berry the better).
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar.
  • 2 bay leaves.
  • 8 garlic cloves.
  • 1 ginger root.
  • 1 tbsp pepper.
  • 2 cups jasmine rice.
The Adobo Chicken made by chef JP Vives at Free Bird Restaurant in Lumsden, Sask. has ginger as a flavour twist.
The adobo chicken made by chef JP Vives at Free Bird Restaurant in Lumsden, Sask., has ginger for a flavour twist. (Curtis McGillivray)

Instructions:

1. Prep all your ingredients, mince garlic & ginger.

2. Season your chicken with salt, a little oil, and pepper.

3. In a hot pot, sear the chicken until it's a bit golden and gets a brown crust out the outside.

4. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.

5. With all the juices from the chicken in the pot, addgarlic, ginger, & berries andsaut.

6. Add soy sauce, lime juice and vinegar.

7. Allow this sauce to mix for a minute before introducing the remaining ingredients: brown sugar, bay leaves, pepper.

8. Let sauce cook and begin to reduce.

9. Once your liquid has reduced to about its original volume, put the browned chicken back in the pot of sauce.

10. Simmer untilchicken is fully cooked, add a bit of water if you need to keep the sauce from fully reducing, and use thermometer to check chicken's temperature (the thickest piece should be at least 165 F or 74 C).

11. You can reduce the sauce as far as you want depending if you like your sauces thick or thin.

12. Serve over a bed of rice, and enjoy!