We had the opportunity to attend an interesting and very tasty chef demo by Chef Leah Cohen during The Sun Wine & Food Fest 2025 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Chef Leah Cohen is the owner of two New York City restaurants, Pig & Khao on the Lower East Side, Piggyback NYC in the Penn District, and has been a top competitor on many of the Food Network programs. For her demo, she created a very tasty Chicken Adobo. Bon Appetit!
Chef Plum & Chef Leah Cohen
Chef Leah Cohen Recipe for Chicken Adobo
Chef Leah Cohen noted that Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines, and it is delicious and so easy to make. She likes to use bone-in chicken thighs for her Adobo Chicken recipe as they are much more flavorful, however if you are pressed for time, you can use boneless chicken thighs.
For her recipe, she uses dried bay leaves and ground bay leaf powder, which adds extra flavor. She creates bay leaf powder by pulverizing dry bay leaves in a blender or coffee grinder.
Chef Leah Cohen
As Adobo can be acidic when the soy sauce and vinegar are reduced, the addition of full fat coconut milk helps to balance out the flavors. While the recipe calls for black pepper, there is no salt added as the light soy sauce has enough salt in it to flavor the dish.
She loves pork and makes Pork Adobo at her restaurants in New York City, Pig & Khao and Piggyback NYC, and said that you can also make a vegetarian version using tofu for the protein.
The Five Main Adobo Ingredients:
Soy Sauce
Vinegar
Bay leaves
Black Pepper
Garlic, bruised
Chef Leah Cohen
Chef Leah Cohen’s Adobo Ingredients:
Chicken Thighs
Oil
Garlic (about 20 garlic cloves, bruised with the flat side of a large knife)
Low Sodium Soy Sauce
Coconut Milk (full fat)
Water
Vinegar
Bay leaves (whole)
Bay leaves (powder)
Black Pepper
Sugar
Chef Leah Cohen
Method: Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (162.7 degrees Celsius). Use a pot large enough so that the chicken will not be crowded when you cook it.
Heat a large pot then add the oil. Add the chicken thighs and sear them on high heat on the stove on one side until brown to caramelize the chicken. Add garlic, low sodium soy sauce, coconut milk, vinegar, water, bay leaves and ground bay leaf powder, black pepper, and some sugar. Stir to combine.
At this point you can continue to braise the chicken on the stove or bake it in the oven, although Chef Leah prefers to bake it in the oven. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Bake the chicken for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with cooked rice.
Chicken Adobo
Chef Leah notes that vinegar is the key to everything in that it adds acidity and flavor, and she likes to add a little extra vinegar to the Adobo sauce at the end.
Why add sugar to savory dishes? To balance acidity and bring out flavors the way you add a little salt to sweet recipes.
Chef Leah Cohen has a new cookbook, Lemongrass & Lime: Southeast Asian Cooking at Home: A Cookbook by Leah Cohen, Chef and Owner of Pig and Khao with Stephanie Banyas, which is filled with over 125 wonderful recipes.
Chef Leah Cohen & Debra C. Argen
Watch Chef Leah Cohen in action during her demo at The Sun Wine & Food Fest 2025 on YouTube.
Chef Leah Cohen
Website: https://www.chefleahcohen.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/leahscohen @leahscohen
Until next time, cheers and Bon Appetit!
Read more about The Sun, Wine & Food Fest in the following sections: Chefs’ Recipes section: Chef Antonia Lofaso, Chef Scott Conant, Chef Maneet Chauhan, and Chef Michele Ragussis.
For more information on The Sun, Wine & Food Fest at Mohegan Sun 2026 or one of their other upcoming events and concerts, please visit the website: www.mohegansun.com.
Mohegan Sun
1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard
Uncasville, CT 06382
United States
General Information: 1-888-226-7711
Hotel Reservations: 1-888-777-7922
Website: www.mohegansun.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/mohegansun
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/mohegansun @mohegansun @SunWineFood
Follow Luxury Experience on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience to see photos and videos.
Follow Luxury Experience on YouTube: @edwardnesta9910 @luxurypair
Follow Luxury Experience on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/luxurypair @luxurypair
© February 2025. Luxury Experience www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.
1 comment
[…] Fest in the following sections: Chefs’ Recipes section: Chef Scott Conant, Chef Maneet Chauhan, Chef Leah Cohen, and Chef Michele […]
Comments are closed.