TINOLANG MANOK
INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ kilos native chicken (not the commercial fried chicken type)
2 cups green papaya wedges (about 1 1/2″ long and 1″ wide)
2 cups dahon ng sili (chili leaves)
2 thumbs ginger, sliced (I prefer yellow)
1 medium sized onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed then minced
Salt and pepper to taste
PROCEDURE:
Heat oil in a pot then sauté onion, garlic, ginger and chicken until chicken is slightly browned and has lost its slimy smell and reddish color. Pour 2 liters of water to boil in medium heat.
This will take about 1 hour and a half or so. The chicken meat should be tender but not mushy. It should easily slide off its bone.
Add papaya wedges cooking until fork tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the leaves, cover then turn off heat. Serve steaming hot.
This particular dish, in my opinion, has lost its glamour and it’s all because of broth cubes. Now that you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen preparing this savory sometimes spicy soup it no longer seemed necessary to await its arrival on weekends. In the past within every household I know, tinolang manok, is only cooked during Sundays when every member of the family is present at lunch, always accompanied by steaming steamed white rice. Native chicken, as it is called, is usually used. Not the commercial-usually-used-for-fried-chicken variety. I have no knowledge as to how it was originally cooked (perhaps I’ll find out later) the following is how I normally do it.
