Chicken Strips Adobo Sandwich

I don't know about you...but I sooo love stew. Just like any other typical Filipino, I love eating it with rice...but I also enjoy eating it with rolls and bread, especially the leftover. Whether it's beef, chicken or pork stew, making a sandwich filling out of it always excites my taste buds. I remember that when I was little, whenever we have stew for dinner, whether its adobo, afritada, estofado, kaldereta or menudo, I would always ask my mom to make me some stew filled pandesal or pandelemon for breakfast the next morning. Sometimes, I would even bring them to school for snack. Even now, I still love that kind of sandwich. During our road trips, I would usually cook adobo or menudo the night before then stuff them in buns. My family consider it as a very yummy on-the-go meal!

For this month's Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge, I found the perfect chance to share one of my family's favorite stew sandwiches with you. Thanks to our host, Louie Yan of East and West for choosing "Filipino portable bites offered by food trucks" to be this month's theme. Here in the US, I've only seen food trucks when we were in NYC. If I am to find one here in Texas, I would love if they have Filipino food like those in California...and how I wish they have this Adobo Sandwich!

It looks so good, right??? If there are food trucks selling this here in Texas, I'll definitely be a frequent customer! And if someday I'll have my own food truck or Filipino fast food restaurant, this Chicken Strips Adobo Sandwich will be one of our house specials! This is no ordinary sandwich, I tell you! It has the goodness of the Filipino all time favorite adobo plus the yummy combination of egg and cheese and the added spice of Jalapeño pepper and onions! 

Though I enjoy any kind of stew, adobo is my most favorite because it is the quickest to cook and it doesn't require much ingredients. For the sandwiches that I prepare for our trips, I usually use shredded leftover pork or chicken adobo, but for this post, I used freshly cooked chicken breast strips adobo with Jalapeño pepper and lots of onions. Chicken breast cut into strips cook a lot faster so this will be perfect for on-the-go meals like this.

You should try it! I'm sure you'll love how tasty and filling this is!

 
Ingredients:

For the Chicken Strips Adobo:
Good for 4-6 sandwiches depending on the layering you will make 

• 1  lb. chicken breast, cut into strips
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium-sized onion, (1 chopped and 1 cut into rings)
• 1 pc whole dried bay leaf
• ¼ cup vinegar (I use 1/8 cup regular and 1/8 cup spicy one)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ½ tsp pepper
• salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 2 pcs. Jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and sliced into rings

For the sandwich:

• slices of white American cheese
• eggs, cooked sunny side up style 
• buns or slices of your choice of bread
• mayonnaise
• Romaine or green leafy lettuce

Procedure:

For Cooking Chicken Strips Adobo:

1. Sprinkle chicken with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Let sit for at least 15 minutes. In a bowl, mix soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaf, 3 cloves minced garlic, and ½ of the chopped onion. Marinate chicken in the mixture for at least 30 minutes. Drain chicken, keeping the marinade aside.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté remaining garlic in olive oil until light brown. Add remaining chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Add chicken and sauté until juice starts to come out. Add the remaining pepper. Mix well. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Add marinade in case the chicken juice won't be enough to cook the chicken.

3. Add salt to suit your taste. As for me, the soy sauce makes it salty enough. Add Jalapeno and onion rings. Simmer for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat.

To assemble:

1. Toast buns or slices of  bread for about 3-4 minutes at 350F. (Toasting the bread will prevent the bread from being soggy after you put the adobo.)

2. Assemble sandwich by layering mayonnaise, chicken strips adobo, lettuce, egg and cheese the way you like it.  Serve with chips and your favorite drink.

 Whether you use loaf bread

or buns,

you'll surely love it!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Be sure to check what other Kulinarya Cooking Club members came up with for this month's theme...