Chicken, preferably dark meat

Soy Sauce (Filipino brands or Asian brands)

White Vinegar

Garlic Cloves

Whole Bay Leaves, dried

Whole Black Peppercorns

The amount of ingredients you use depends on how much chicken you intend to make. So, let’s say you’re making 8 thigh pieces. Throw those in a sauce pan or stock pot on a stovetop burner. Take equal parts soy sauce and white vinegar and pour these liquids into your cookware in 1/2 cup increments until chicken is 3/4 to 4/5 submerged. Throw in 3 or 4 whole bay leaves. Take about 8 to 10 garlic cloves, crush them, and throw them in as well. Measure out about a teaspoon or teaspoon and a half of whole black peppercorns. Sprinkle them over the chicken. Bring this all to a boil over medium heat. When boiling starts, cover your pot or pan, and turn heat to low. Then wait until the chicken is cooked, about 35-40 minutes, but you can leave it on low heat forever, as if you were using a slow cooker (which, of course, is an alternate way to cook this, and will take 6-8 hours). The longer you slow-cook, the more masarap (tagalog for ‘tasty’).

Serve with steamed rice.

You can also add stewing pork. For lower sodium, add 1/3 to 1/2 cup water, or more, to taste. But don’t use low-sodium soy sauce.