Not just your average chicken soup

This week I set out on yet another international adventure. I took a night off from my normal evening responsibilities and set to work making a Filipino comfort soup: Tinolang Manuk or Chicken Tinola.

 This version is the Ilocano version using Chili leaves and green papaya. Of course depending on the area you are from, the ingredients may vary. I used a version of a recipe from burnt lumpia and modified it, but not really a lot. I pretty much stuck to the recipe as written. I went around gathering my ingredients. The green papaya was easy. Got that and a piece of lemongrass at Michael’s Fresh market. Had to go to the local Filipino store to find the chili leaves. They were frozen. It is very difficult to find these fresh leaves in this area if at all. But frozen will do in a pinch if you do not have access to fresh. Also malunggay leaves can be used in the place of the Chili leaves. I got my ginger and chicken at Whole Foods and the fish sauce at the regular grocery store in the ethnic aisle. This dish is really easy to make and simple as well which is why I like it. The preparation can be time consuming. You have to chop everything up and the green papaya requires a little work as well. This was my first time working on this fruit so I read about it before prepping it. You must remove the skin and also take out the seeds. There is a rubbery white center inside and I cut that out as well. Then I chopped the papaya up into big pieces. The chicken was a whole chicken cut up into sections, around 4 pounds. I browned that in a big soup pot in oil,  removed the pieces and set aside. In the drippings I softened the onions, ginger, garlic and lemongrass. I then put the chicken back in as well as some fish sauce, added water and let everything simmer for 20 minutes. Let me say one thing, I am not crazy about fish sauce. In fact, I can’t really stand the smell. But sometimes for the sake of the recipe, you must try things you normally would not. I am not crazy about balsalmic vinegar by itself, but roasted with chicken and mustard it makes a heavenly, sticky, mildly sweet, carmelized coating. My kitchen stunk for about a half hour after I added the fish sauce. Finally after simmering, I was ready to add the papaya. I allowed it to simmer another 30 minutes and lastly added the chili leaves. I sampled what I had made and was amazed at the flavor. There was a lot of depth of flavor even though the recipe did not have many complicated ingredients. It was also very comforting. I prefer it even over Westernized chicken noodle soups. The next day was the real test. I gave a sample to my Filipino friends. I received a phone call and beamed when they told me it was good. Who better else to judge my recipe, than the professionals who would know what it should taste like. I was told that I should cut the chicken into smaller pieces. Besides the wings and legs, most of the other pieces were rather large. But still, success! My next adventure as far as Filipino cooking goes will be Caldereta. I want to try it with goat, but want to get a good supplier of this kind of meat before I use it. Caldereta is chunks of stewing beef (traditionally goat) sauteed in olive oil with chopped garlic, onions and tomatoes, and then slow cooked in water. The sauce is usually thickened with pureed, cooked chicken liver. Then veggies are added like red pepper or carrots.

I loved this experience, mostly because I was able to work with two new foods, papaya and lemongrass. Also I had no idea how this dish was going to turn out. We all love our “old trusty” recipes and like to stay within our comfort zone so we don’t mess up or even embarass ourselves if we are cooking for others, right? But I am finding as I step out of my little box and into the world of exotic, unusual ingredients, I did not realize what I was missing. I hope you also will do the same!

Green Papaya

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