Soups
Chicken Tinola with Sayote and Malunggay
A ginger-forward chicken tinola with clear broth, tender sayote and malunggay leaves for a comforting family meal.
Tinola relies on a clean chicken broth lifted by ginger rather than a long ingredient list. Sautéing ginger with the aromatics and briefly cooking fish sauce removes harshness before water is added.
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken, cut into serving pieces
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 thumb-size ginger, cut into thin strips
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 7 cups water
- 2 medium sayote, peeled and cut into wedges
- 2 cups malunggay or chili leaves
- 2 long green chilies
- Black pepper to taste
How to cook it
- Heat oil in a pot. Sauté onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant but not browned.
- Add chicken and cook, turning, until the surface loses its raw color.
- Add fish sauce and cook for 1 minute. Pour in water and bring to a boil.
- Skim any foam, lower the heat and simmer partly covered for 25 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
- Add sayote and green chilies. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the sayote can be pierced easily.
- Stir in malunggay, turn off the heat after 1 minute, and season with pepper and more fish sauce only if needed.
Why this method works
Gentle simmering keeps the broth clearer and the chicken tender. Sayote goes in only after the chicken is nearly cooked, while leafy greens need no more than a minute.
- Green papaya can replace sayote; give firmer pieces a few extra minutes.
- Use bone-in chicken for a fuller broth.
- If the broth tastes flat, add a small amount of fish sauce before reaching for more salt.
How to serve
Ladle into bowls with plenty of hot broth and serve with rice. A patis-calamansi dip with sliced chili can be offered separately.
Recipe tested and reviewed by Sarap Recipe Editorial. Taste and cooking time may vary with ingredient size, stove heat and product brand.