Tinolang Manok Recipe (Chicken Ginger Stew)

Estimated cooking time: 45 minutes

Tinola Manok Ingredients:

• 1 kilo whole chicken, cut into pieces.

• 1 small young papaya or sayote, cut into small pieces.

• 2 tablespoons ginger, crushed and slliced into strips

• 1/2 cup dahon ng sili (chili leaves)

• 1 liter of water

• 5 garlic cloves, minced

• 5 pieces of tomatoes, sliced
  

• 1 red onion, diced

• 4 tablespoons oil

• 2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce)

Tinolang Manok Cooking Instructions:

• In a stock pot, heat oil and sauté garlic, onion, tomatoes, chicken and ginger.

• When the tomatoes are cooked add water.

• Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is almost done.

• Season with patis or salt.
  

• Add papaya and continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until papaya softens but not overcooked.

• Add sili leaves then turn off the heat.

• Serve steaming hot with plain rice.

Chicken Pork Adobo Recipe

Estimated cooking time: 50 minutes

Adobo Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo pork, cut in cubes

• 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into pieces

• 1 head garlic, minced

• 1/2 yellow onion, diced

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 1 cup vinegar

• 2 cups of water

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 5 laurel leaves (bay leaves)

• 4 tablespoons of cooking oil or olive oil

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 3 tablespoons water

Adobo Cooking Instructions:

• In a big sauce pan or wok, sauté garlic and onions on cooking hot 2 tablespoons of oil.

• Add the pork and chicken to the pan. Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, vinegar, paprika and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or when meat is tender.

• Remove the pork and chicken from the sauce pan and on another pan, heat cooking oil and brown the pork and chicken for a few minutes.

• Mix the browned pork and chicken back to the sauce and add cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken. Bring to a boil then simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

• Serve hot with the adobo gravy and plain rice.

Adobo Cooking Tips:

You have the option to add crushed ginger to the onions and garlic when sautéing. Ginger adds a unique flavor to your pork/chicken adobo.

Chicken Inasal Recipe

Preparation & marinating: 6 hours to overnight
Estimated cooking time: 40 minutes

Chicken Inasal Ingredients:

• 2 Chickens (free range if available)

• 3/4 cup Filipino vinegar
  

• 1/4 cup Garlic finely minced
  

• 2 stalks Lemon grass optional

• Salt

• Annatto oil (see notes below)
  

• Wooden skewers
  

• Spiced vinegar

• Additional Ingredients Instructions:

• 2 free-range chickens, approx. 3 pounds each, or if you can find smaller chickens, use 3 of them

• 3/4 cup Filipino vinegar, palm if you can find it, or cane; or if you must, the equivalent in kalamansi juice (available in the frozen aisle of your Asian market if you don’t have access to fresh)
• 1/4 cup garlic, minced very finely, or better yet, mashed into a paste with 2 teaspoons sea salt
• achuete or annatto oil, made by steeping 1/4 cup annatto seeds in 1/2 cup hot oil for half an hour (If not available, you may mix a small amount of paprika and tumeric to achieve the same color.)
• thick wooden skewers, soaked for 1 hour in water prior to cooking
• Bottled spiced vinegar for serving, or make your own by mixing Filipino vinegar, lots of crushed garlic, a bit of salt, and a handful of Thai peppers or other tiny red hot peppers

Chicken Inasal Cooking Instructions:

• Quarter the chickens, or if using the small ones, halve them. Marinate in the vinegar, garlic and salt, several hours or overnight, turning several times.
• Preheat grill to 350 degrees. Make sure your grill is cleaned and oiled well. Cook over indirect heat for 20 minutes, basting with the achuete oil.
• Turn and cook for 10-15 minutes more, or until thickest parts of chicken exude clear juices when pierced. Can also be made in a grill pan on the stove if no outside barbecue is available.
• Serve immediately with the spiced vinegar. Other welcome additions to the vinegar: some soy sauce or fish sauce if you like, or even some minced ginger.

Variations:

• Another technique we’ve found to work well, is to heat the oil in which the annatto is to be steeped, and to steep the garlic (and lemon grass if using) together with the seeds. This ensures a more even distribution of flavors. Just remember to discard this mixture when you’re done with the cooking, as you risk botulism from the garlic. Or, if you want to make it ahead of time, be sure to refrigerate the oil to retard any toxins from developing.
• If your chicken is particularly fatty, you could render the fat slowly in a skillet, and use that instead of cooking oil to steep the annatto seeds. In which case, you’ll want to have enough not only for basting but also for serving later, as there’s nothing more appetizing than chicken inasal drizzled with this orange concoction.

Chicken Afritada Recipe

Estimated cooking time: 50 minutes

Chicken Afritada Ingredients:

• 1 kilo chicken, cut into pieces

• 5 pieces potatoes, peeled and halved

• 1 red onion, diced

• 1 head garlic, minced

• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

• 2 cups pork or chicken stock (broth)

• 1 cup tomato sauce

• 2 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)

• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil

Chicken Afritada Cooking Instructions:

• In a cooking pot or wok, heat oil.

• Sauté garlic and onions.

• Add chicken and slightly brown.

• Pour the tomato sauce and stock. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked.

• Add potatoes and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

• Add the green and red bell peppers, simmer for an additional minute or two.

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Serve hot with rice.