Chicken Tinola

Chicken Tinola is a very popular recipe here in the Philippines. It is a Filipino soup dish wherein chicken is stewed with ginger. I remember my late grandmother used to cook the most delicious chicken tinola when we were kids. She used the native chicken that she raised herself and she put it first in the chicken coop for a month before butchering it. I asked her why she had to do that, putting the chicken in the chicken coop for a month and just feed it with rice and corn and she said, she didn't want the chicken to eat worms or anything unclean before it will hit her pot, lol!

I don't raise chicken like granny did so the best I can do is to buy a free-range chicken meat. It's not as delicious as what my granny used to cook but at least it satisfies my longing for my granny's cooking. So here's the recipe for the chicken tinola with malunggay leaves.

Ingredients

• 1 kilo whole chicken, cut into serving pieces and washed with water
• 1 thumb-sized fresh ginger root, cut into strips
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 tbsp. patis (fish sauce)
• salt, to taste
• 6 cups water
• 2 cups malunggay or substitute 2 cups ampalaya leaves
• vegetable oil

Cooking Procedure:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add onions, stir-fry until softened and translucent.
2. Add chicken cuts. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until chicken colors slightly. Season with patis and salt.
3. Pour in water (or rice water, if using). Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer until chicken is half-done. Correct seasonings and then add malunggay or substitute. Stir to combine until well blended. Remove from heat.
4. Let stand for a few minutes to cook the green vegetables. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot.