Tinola : A Filipino Recipe

MMM. Tinola. This was one of the first meals my mom taught me how to cook. It's a Filipino Soul Food. About 3 years ago, I can only cook 3 meals. Tinola (Chicken Soup), Sinigang (Pork/Beef Tamarind Soup) and Filipino Sweet Spaghetti. That's all I had in rotation. Back then, we'd get tired of the same 3 meal rotation and would always go out to eat out or take out. No wonder our dining expense (per mint.com) was >$600 / month!

It's been a while since I cooked a good batch of Tinola. My daughter would always ask for Rice & Soup. I on the other hand, wanted to try out recipes - what can I say? I wanted to expand my baby culinary expertise. LoL.

Today, I went to Lunardi's
. It was traffic going back home & I thought I'd save some time and let the traffic die out while I shop for food. Before roaming around the aisles, I took a look @ their ad. Organic Baby Bok Choy? NO WAY! I.LOVE.Bok Choy. On Sale? HELL YES! Grabbed a few bunches and grabbed some Fulton Valley Organic Chicken Legs & Thighs which I asked the butcher to cut up in smaller pieces. Grabbed some other essentials - Milk, Yogurt (thank god I have an Ap for keeping tabs on what I'm out of. And back home I went. A soon to be organic meal + essentials for less than $10. I also saved $0.05 for brining my own grocery bag which I always keep with me in the car.

As soon as I got home, I popped the pot in the burner and let that heat up while I was putting groceries away.

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients :

E.V.O.O - enough to saute
Ginger - Peeled and sliced. Make them big enough to pick out before serving (although I like ginger, I hate biting into it thinking it's a big juicy piece of chicken. =])
Chopped Onions - I always pre-chop/slice onions and put them in a NonBPA plastic container in the freezer. Only have to cut up onions once all in 1 big batch)
Chicken - I like dark meat. I haven't tried Tinola with chicken breasts, but I would think it would taste a lot leaner. One of the joys of this is the Chicken Fat - explained later.
Water
Fish Sauce (Patis)
Bok Choy - or Spinach. Honestly think that any leafy dark green would do. I tried this with Brocolli before . . it wasn't the business.

Let's make it!
1) Heat up a pan and add a slash of EVOO. Toss in the ginger and stir until the pot becomes fragrant & ginger gets a tad softer. Add the onions. Stir for a little bit then add a sprinkle of Kosher Salt to speed up the process. I'm impatient and I learned this tip from one of my foodie gurus. Transfer this to a plate and set aside.
2) Chicken Juice. Filipinos would usually add chicken after the onions and let that brown, but I learned this trick from a friend. I've tried both ways and I think I get more flavor using this method. I know it's probably just chicken fat, but it makes any chicken dish so flavorful! Place the cleanly washed chicken into the pot and add a splash of water. Cover the pot and let it 'sweat' This process usually takes 10 minutes on high heat. Open the pot, get a nice chicken facial, and then re-place the ginger & onions. Add more water to cover the chicken & let it boil/simmer. Let the chicken cook - no to bloody chicken!
3) When the chicken is almost done, Add a splash of Fish Sauce (Patis) be gentle. It's some potent stuff! This is my mom's secret ingredient. Salt just doesn't give the soup enough soul.
4) About 5 minutes before done, add the greens. Let it wilt? a bit.
5) Serve over (brown) rice with a side of fish sauce to taste.

There you have it. My best recipe - in itt's Organic Version. $5.26 for an Organic Dinner & Left Over Lunches.

Let me know if you have any questions!
Kain Na (Let's Eat!)