Name: Chicken Pork Adobo
Ingredients: 1/2 pound pork, cut into cubes; 1/4 cup vinegar; 1/2 cup soy sauce; 1 whole bulb garlic, peeled and crushed; 1 cup minced onions; 1 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 bay leaves; 2 cups water; 1/2 pound chicken, cut into cubes

Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Chicken Pork Adobo

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Combine the pork, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, onions, pepper, bay leaves and water and bring to a boil.
Simmer until the pork is moderately cooked.
Add the chicken and simmer for 20 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

475Calories

60 gProtein

18 gFat

14 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork	100g cooked	242
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Pork + chickentop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,417 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Garlic + chickentop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,850 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Pork: Provides rich meaty flavor and tender bite as it simmers in the braising liquid.
Chicken: Adds tender texture and absorbs the savory, tangy sauce as it simmers.
Soy sauce: Adds salty, savory depth and helps color the braising liquid.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens the flavor and helps tenderize the meat.
Garlic: Contributes pungent aroma and savory depth to the sauce.

The step that matters

Simmering the pork before adding chicken. Pork needs more time than chicken to become tender. Adding the chicken only after the pork is moderately cooked helps prevent the chicken from overcooking and turning dry while the pork finishes.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, vinegar, sauce, garlic, pepper, chicken):

Capsicumfits about as well
Tomatofits about as well
Onionthe original
Mustardfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, vinegar, sauce, garlic, pepper, chicken. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Chicken Broth257 recipes

Chicken Soup156 recipes

Pork Cake107 recipes

Creamed Chicken89 recipes

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Chicken Pork Adobo