Published: Expat Newpaper, September 2008
Photo lifted --with permission-- from tulipfleurs.wordpress.com
Generations of American mothers have nourished their ailing children with the requisite chicken soup. With the advent of its canned variety, this timeless comfort food was easily and instantly made available to people, sick or otherwise.
Perhaps the closest counterpart of the Western chicken soup in Filipino cuisine is the Tinola, an uncomplicated soup-based, ginger-flavored chicken dish cooked with vegetables. Likewise, Tinola is also a preferred folk-remedy for Filipinos, as I observed during a recent bout with the common cold when everyone and their cousin offered to prepare the dish for me.
Unfussy though it may be, the humble Tinola is an inextricable part of the Filipino gastronomy. The dish even made a significant appearance in the monumental Noli Me Tangere, a novel by the National Hero Jose Rizal published in 1887, during the Spanish colonial era.
The ease of its preparation and its easily obtainable ingredients definitely account for its popularity. Far from being a fancy dish to be saved for special occasions, it is a quintessential mealtime offering in most Filipino households, but no less loved for it.
As for those who didn’t grow up eating Tinola, or Filipino food for that matter, the its mild and soothing flavor, which is easy on the palate, makes it an excellent choice to start you on a tasty foray into the local cuisine.
Although available in most restaurants, Tinola is something even the most inexperienced can whip-up effortlessly. This, dear readers, is certainly something you must try at home.
First comes the chicken, the undisputed star of the dish. While the run-of-the-mill chicken sold at supermarkets will do just fine, Tinola is best prepared using so-called native chickens, those often found in backyards of rural homes, the free-range type with a diet free from hormones. Native chickens tend to be smaller but they are infinitely more flavorful.
The vegetables included in the broth are easy to find, interchangeable and among the most inexpensive. The chayote or sayote, a vitamin rich gourd, may be substituted with green papaya. The chili leaves may also be replaced with malunggay leaves. Known as moringa in English, the malunggay tree is a common fixture in backyards of most homes.
The broth for this dish is as straightforward as it goes, relying only on ginger for its key flavoring. Adding fish sauce with calamansi or panama orange, in the mix is optional, a teaspoon per serving will suffice. The fish sauce, known locally as patis, and the calamansi are standard Filipino condiments sold in most every grocery.
Best served piping hot and eaten with the ubiquitous rice, a staple in every Filipino’s diet
Ingredients:
1 kilo whole chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 piece medium-sized green papaya or chayote, peeled and sliced into finger sizes.
1/2 cup chili or malunggay leaves
2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
2 tablespoons of crushed ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-sized white onion, quartered
5 cups water
3 tablespoons oil
patis and calamansi to taste
Procedure:
1. In a large, deep dish, heat oil and sauté garlic, ginger, and onion in medium heat.
2. Add chicken pieces and stir-fry until meat turns white, usually under 5 minutes.
3. Pour in the water.
4. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer until the chicken is tender. This will take a longer time if using the native chicken.
6. Add in the green papaya or the chayote and let simmer until the papaya or chayote is tender.
7. Add the chili or malunggay leaves then remove from heat. Keep it covered to allow the leaves to cook.
8. Serve hot over rice. Add patis and kalamansi to taste