Ang Sarap (A Tagalog word for "It's Delicious")

Tinola

Tinola, the Pinoy version of the chicken soup.  When its a chicken soup it means its always good for the cold and rainy days, a staple food for children with colds and fever.  A very savoury soup which is made out of chicken, ginger and fish sauce.

Tinola is an authentic Filipino dish, in fact it was invented around 1800′s and even referenced in Jose Rizals book Noli Me Tangere in Chapter 3 where Capitan Tiago ordered the said dish after he missed eating it for a long time when he extended his stay in Europe.  Its so authentic the ingredients is a bit hard to find if you reside outside of the Philippines like chayotes or green papaya, malunggay and finger chilli leaves thats why sometimes we have to improvise as such ingredients are hard to find or extremely seasonal.  So what I recommend as a replacement are listed below.

Ingredients

800g mix of chicken nibbles, thighs and legs (These parts are good for soup so do use deboned parts)
1 – 1.5 litre chicken stock
1 thumb sized ginger, thinly sliced
2 medium sized chayote or 1 medium sized green papaya cubed
1 large red onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch finger chilli leaves or capsicum leaves
1 bunch malunggay leaves or watercress
oil
fish sauce or sea salt
ground black pepper

Method

1. In a pot heat oil and saute garlic, onions and ginger.  Cook until onions are soft.
2. Add chicken and stir fry for 2 minutes in high heat browing all sides.
3. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes
4. Add chayote or green papaya and simmer for additional 15 minutes
5. Add chilli leaves and malunggay, cover and simmer for 1 more minute.
6. Season with fish sauce and freshly ground pepper.