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Tinolang Manok

What is your favorite comfort food? Ever feel down, missing home, under the weather, or experiencing a storm and cold weather? Most of us will be looking for a nice warm bowl of soup to bring us a smile during those instances. Today I will be introducing to you one of Philippine's well know comfort food called the "Tinolang Manok (Chicken Ginger Soup)".

Tinola is an original Philippine recipe that dates back to the 1800s and one of the favorite dish our our national hero. No one knows who invented the Tinola and there are even stories that suggest that it was invented during the cultural trade with the Chinese.

The Tinola is very easy to prepare and the ingredients are easily available in a lot of countries.

The Philippine green chili is not necessarily required for this recipe but some use it to add some flavor. We happen to have a chili plant and the two chilis are almost red and no longer green. I would not want it to go to waste and just add it to our recipe today.

Ingredients:

One medium sized onion
Ginger
Unripe papaya
Chili leaves
Salt
Garlic
One whole chicken

The chicken that my wife bought from the market is fresh and not frozen. Although you could still use frozen chicken if the fresh one is not available. Please take note that the Tinola can use various meat like pork, fish and mussels. The Mussel Tinola is my next favorite variant which I will also share with you in our future episodes.

Slicing the ingredients

There is no right way to slice the vegetables and you could do it any way you want. But for the papaya best to slice them into cubes that are not too small.

The Papaya is a little bit ripe but still hard which is good. Another option for the papaya is the vegetable called Chayote. Chayote is the original vegetable used but we got used to using Papaya because it adds a little bit of sweetness. Also in my opinion the Tinola tastes better by using Papaya.

Firing up the wood stove

I love using our clay wood stove. All the food cooked here tastes so much better than on our regular gas stove. The burning wood also reminds me of the ambiance in the province.

This is our clay pot called the "Palayok" it adds authenticity to our Philippine dish. Cooking food here tastes different and I would prefer using it than our regular stainless pans. One drawback though it is a bit hard to clean. You cannot wash it with dishwashing soap. To clean it you need to rub the inside with rock salt until all the food particles and scent are removed. After that, you would need to heat the pot to dry it.

Cooking Time

Our clay pot is now hot and we will add some vegetable oil.

We will sauté the garlic, ginger and onions when the oil is hot enough.

Mix all the ingredients until the onion is translucent.

Next we will add our chicken.

We have added a little dash of fish sauce but if not available salt will be sufficient enough.

Cover the pot and wait for the chicken to cook a little and release some moisture.

We will add water but it is best to use chicken broth. In our case, we do not have chicken broth available, we have added chicken cubes as to make a broth.

Add some ground pepper.

Once it has boiled, taste the soup and add some salt as needed.

Now it is crucial to add the Papaya in this stage as Papaya takes a while for it to soften. You would not want to eat a hard Papaya which is not enjoyable.

Cover the pot again and check once in a while if the Papaya is already soft.

Once the Papaya is soft add the Philippine chili and the chili leaves. The leaves for me is an important ingredient as it adds a lot of flavor to the Tinola. I always ask my wife to add more leaves every time she cooks tinola. You can do without the leaves the recipe feels incomplete for me. I think that any chili leaves would work.

Again cover the pot and let it boil for a few minutes until the leaves are cooked.

Our Chicken Tinola is now ready to serve for lunch. Savor that delicious ginger soup merged with other flavors and it is best served with steamed rice.

I wish you could smell and taste this delicious dish. It is a dish that we are proud of and that a spoonful of soup will always bring up a smile. Have an adventure in your kitchen and try to cook up our Tinola. One way to experience our culture even though you are on the other side of the world.