Soup of the Day - Tinolang Manok

From 78F to the low 60's in a matter of a few days...

Thought I'd make an easy meal since my MIL would be joining us for dinner...


I put our planned Beef Goulash on hold for next weekend. No worries since I hadn't bought any beef stew meat yet anyways. Below, the ingredients for Chicken Tinola (Tinolang Manok, a Philippine ginger based chicken soup)...Get started by sauteeing your aromatics, the ginger and onions.

Then, brown your chicken. I removed the skin off four of the thighs but kept two with the skin on. Ya gotta have SOME flavor!

While the chicken is happily browning away, peel and cut up the chayote, making sure to remove the pith and seed in the middle.

Add your water after the chicken has browned and let it simmer for half an hour. Add the chunked (or cubed if you're anal) chayote and let it simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Add the spinach last. Since I'm lazy, I used a 9 oz. bag of pre-washed spinach salad ($1.99 at Sprouts).

The chayote should be soft by now. If you can't find chayote, you could substitute zucchini, but really, it's not the same. That's like substituting a hot date with Alexander Skarsgard and ending up with Danny deVito. So look for chayote at Sprouts or the local Hispanic markets (if you have them in your area). The real way to make this though is with green papaya but chayote makes the cut for me.

Enjoy over some (gasp) white rice!

Although I've made this dish many times, I've only posted the recipe a few times. Here's a few versions  where I used different leaves instead of spinach:

October 2011 - Sili (pepper)
November 2011 - Ampalaya (bittermelon) and Kang Kong (water spinach)

Chicken Tinola (Tinolang Manok)
(my recipe)

Ingredients:
2 lbs of chicken (I used thighs; you can use whatever parts you want)
1 knob of ginger, sliced into coins (or slivers or however you want it)
1 small onion, sliced and chopped
1 or 2 chayote, peeled and deseeded and cut into chunks or cubes
water (I used 8 cups; you can use more or less depending on how soupy you want this)
Patis (fish sauce) - to taste
black pepper - to taste
spinach leaves

Directions:
Saute the ginger with the onions until onions are wilted
Add the chicken and brown both sides
Add the water, black pepper, and fish sauce and simmer for 30 minutes
Add the chayote and simmer for 15 more minutes
Adjust seasonings to taste (I used more patis to give it a tiny flavor boost)
Add the spinach leaves last.

There you have it.

One of the most easiest Filipino recipes ever!  Good for cold, rainy days like today. Or actually any damn day for that matter!

Now excuse me while I chow down...