Chicken Tinola

It's the monsoon season and it's been raining a lot for the last few days. The weather has been turned a bit chilly now. I love rainy days (See: Pluviophilic.) It's the perfect weather to curl up inside my book reading fort with a mug of hot chocolate or watch my favorite series with a hot bowl of soup-based dishes. So I took advantage of the weather to cook one of my favorite Filipino food, Chicken Tinola. And here I am, sharing the recipe.

Chicken Tinola is a kind of chicken soup made out of ginger and onion broth. A main entree in the Philippines, it is served with rice. I'm not sure if the name has an English equivalent. I've read a lot online like Chicken in Ginger Broth and Chicken Soup with Green Papaya and Chili Leaves to name a couple. If you do find out, will you let me know? ^_^

Ingredients:

1 kilo of chicken, cut into serving pieces

2 pieces of sayote (chayote), cut into small wedges

2 thumbs of ginger, cut into strips

1 Tbsp of minced garlic

1 whole onion, chopped

3 Tbsp Patis (Fish Sauce)

Chili pepper leaves

Steps:

1. Saute the garlic, onion, and ginger.

2. Put the chicken in and add a tablespoon of fish sauce. Make sure you mix it evenly.

3. Cook the chicken until it turns light brown (not golden! this is not fried chicken. though that sounds yummy too. :P)

4. Put half a liter of water then add two tablespoons of fish sauce. Let simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Pour a liter of water then bring to a boil. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes.

6. Add the sayote and simmer until the sayote are tender.

7. Throw in the chili pepper leaves and continue to simmer for about 2 minutes.

8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

9. Serve! (Best when it's still hot.)

The secrets I've learned from my mom is to let the chicken simmer for a while and, for added taste, use the last water from the rice washing instead of plain water. Must be true, I love her Tinola! ♥

Tadaaaa~♥

It's perfect lunch or dinner on a cold, rainy day. This is actually my nephew's favorite dish. :)

I hope you enjoy this Filipino classic recipe.

Do let me know what you think.

Until the next food log,

Spammy~♥