Philipine Chicken Adobo

I got this recipe out of a food network cookbook and we tried it for dinner tonight. Everyone really liked it. It is pretty simple and you can make it in under 30 minutes. I served it with rice and steamed veggies.

3 T. oil
8 skinless bone-in chicken thighs (but I used chicken breasts and it was fine)
1 tsp. salt, plus additional for seasoning
15 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 bay leaves
2 cups water
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. sugar
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 T. cornstarch mixed with 1 T. water

Heat large skillet over medium high. Add the oil to pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in skillet. Let it cook for about four minutes on that side, until it gets a little golden. Add in the garlic, bay leaves, water, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, 1 tsp. salt, black pepper, and red pepper. Bring to a boil and then turn stove down to a simmer and cook chicken for 25 minutes, uncovered. Turn the chicken occassionaly so both sides get cooked in sauce mixture.

Transfer the chicken to plate and add in the cornstarch and water mixture to make sauce thicker. Bring to a boil and then keep on simmer until desired thickness. Once sauce is thick, almost glaze like put chicken back in pan and coat chicken with the sauce. Serve chicken with the sauce drizzled on top (I added a few green onions on top also, but those were purely for look.)