One of my goals this year is to master one Filipino recipe a month. This month, I’ve perfected Tinolang Manok, a Filipino Chicken Soup made with ginger. This soup is typically cooked with unripe papaya, but I’ve cooked it the way my mother taught me: potatoes, carrots and greens. This dish is so comforting, especially during the winter months, or when you’re feeling ill. Even better, the soup tastes great the next day. So, if you’re lucky, and have leftovers, be sure to heat it up, and enjoy.
Recipe: Tinolang Manok (Filipino Chicken Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 3-4 lb chicken, cut into serving pieces, and remove some of the excess skin (your soup won’t be as oily)
- 7-8 cups of water
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 inches of ginger root, sliced thin
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 green onions (scallions), sliced into 1” long pieces
- 4 yellow potatoes, quartered
- 4 carrots, cut into pieces
- 1/2 lb dark leafy vegetables (Shanghai bok choy, kale, swiss chard, spinach, etc).
- 4 tablespoons olive oil (or other cooking oil)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
- 3 dried bay leaves
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- In a large pot, heat oil and add garlic, chopped onions, scallions (1/2), ginger. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.
- Add chicken, season with salt and pepper. Stir-fry for about 3-5 minutes.
- Cover the meat with water. Bring to a boil. And cook, uncovered, over medium heat for about 30 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and carrots. Cook for another 20 minutes.
- Add the patis, leafy vegetables, and remaining scallions. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Serve hot, ideally with white rice.
Tip
This soup tastes great the following day. A trick I learned from my mother is to set aside some extra greens. When you reheat the soup, add the greens and bring the soup to a boil. It’s as if you cooked it the same day.
I used organic yellow potatoes in this recipe. It has a slight sweet taste to them, and doesn’t taste as starchy as red potatoes.
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