tinolang manok (Chicken tinola)

Categories

All Coffee Shops Food High School Jesus Travel UT Year 1 UT Year 2 UT Year 3 UT Year 4

One part of my new year's resolution is to learn how to cook better, preferably Filipino food. As I mentioned in my previous posts, my mom is a VERY good cook so I haven't really been able to practice much except in college (you can ask my roommates tho there were a lot of epic fails). Now that I am back home, I am taking advantage of every opportunity to learn how to cook from the best. ;) My first Filipino food that I will be sharing is Tinola. 

According to Wikipedia, Tinola in Tagalog or Visayan, or la uya in Ilocano is a soup-based dish served as an appetizer or main entrée in the Philippines. Traditionally, this dish is cooked with chicken, wedges of green papaya, and leaves of the siling labuyo chili pepper in broth flavored with ginger, onions and fish sauce.

It is one of my favorite dishes to eat, but also to cook, because it's pretty simple! 

prep time: 15 min

cook time: 45 min. - 1 hour (depending on your chicken)

Total time: 1 hour - 1 hour 15 min

Ingredients 

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium sized onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic,  peeled and minced 
• 1 fresh ginger, peeled and cut into strips
• 2 large chicken breasts (cut into serving pieces)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce 
• 3 cups water
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 3 pieces of chayote (mirliton squash) peeled and sliced*
• *If you don't have chayote, 1 small green papaya can work as well

instructions

• Heat vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat.  
• Sauté the garlic, onion and ginger.
• Add the chicken to cook. Season with salt and pepper.
  
• Stir occasionally for about 5-7 minutes or until the chicken begins to change color. 
• Add the fish sauce and stir. 
• Add the water and bring to a boil. 
• Lower the heat, cover and allow the chicken to simmer for about 30-35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
• Add the chayote or small green papaya and cook for 3-5 minutes.
• Season with salt, fish sauce and pepper to taste. 
• Serve hot and enjoy! Best served with rice.