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This easy Chicken Tinola recipe will come in handy for the first cold or flu of the season. Once you or any loved one feels those early symptoms coming along, cook up this recipe, with easy to follow and detailed instructions. Then, let the garlic and ginger infused broth and spinach go to work with your immune system. Not to mention, the power within the star of the show, the patis. You can even add to the medicinal power by including malunggay (moringa) leaves, lemon grass and some spiciness.
I remember those cold, wet Bay Area days, saying home from school with a bad cold. Nothing was more refreshing than getting a coffee mug of Tinola broth. I would drink it down, before it got cold. As soon as I was ready, I would then go down stairs to have a bowl of Chicen Tinola over rice. Not to undermine the power of Vick’s Vapor Rub or smelling lemon or Calamansi leaves, but Chicken Tinola always came through on worst of days.
To keep the Filipino tradition alive, we are sharing our easy Chicken Tinola recipe. We know how it feels to have yourself or a loved one sick at home. If you have kids then I know you know what it is like when all of them are sick at one time. Cooking the right comfort dish isn’t always easy, especially when Grandma, Grandpa, Mom or Dad are not close at hand to cook for you. Chicken Tinola is not an easy dish to cook in the sense of doing it with your eyes closed, one hand tied behind your back, and within 10 minutes. Prep and cooking will take time but we have laid out some detailed instructions to help you along the way.
Tips for Your Easy Chicken Tinola Recipe
Prep in Advance
There are many things that you can do ahead of time to speed up the preparation process of Chicken Tinola. If you are the main chef of the house and you are cooking dinners daily or preparing them on the weekends, I would recommend chopping onions in advance and storing them in the fridge. This will be a time saver for all of your meals. You can also do the same with garlic. By simply peeling off all of the cloves of a bulb all at once, you are cutting in to the prep time for just about every dish.
Strong to the Finish
Nothing beats buying a fresh bunch of organic spinach from the market. Unfortunately, the best of the bunch may come with its share of mud or unwanted insects. Thoroughly washing the bunch can be a task. You can opt to buy the plastic containers or bags of organic spinach to save time. For the most part, they are are ready to go for cooking. Sometimes I give them a quick rinse anyways, just to be sure.
Pieces to the Whole
Another sure way to save time is to buy your chicken in already cut pieces. I know that nothing beats homemade chicken broth made from the pieces of a freshly cut chicken, but the last thing that you want is chicken blood hands when every little nose has to get wiped, every 3 minutes. I love cooking with chicken thighs because of the flavor and nutritional value that they provide. See my adobo recipe for more information on chicken thighs. Chicken Adobo.
Hang On!
Lastly, if this is your first time cooking with chayote, you’re in for quite an experience. When you start peeling one, everything seems fine and normal. But, just like that its slippery flesh will start challenging your once confident dexterity. Before you finish peeling the whole vegetable, it is bound to shoot out of your hand a few times. To help prevent this, try peeling it at the sink. Give it a quick rinse once you feel it getting slippery. Also be sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. Even after giving your hands a good wash you may still feel its filmy residue drying up on you fingers.
One Last Reminder for your Easy Chicken Tinola Recipe
Don’t forget, you’re going to need a fresh pot of rice for this recipe. It may sound weird, if this is the first time that you are making this dish, but an important ingredient is your rinse water from washing rice. When we wash our rice it is to get rid of all the dirt or debris, leftover shells for some grains and excess starch. Believe it or not, rice water is filled with nutrients that are great for your skin. Read here. I know man who do not wash their rice before cooking to maintain all of the nutrients from fortification.
I discard the water from the initial wash, to get rid of the impurities. For the second wash, I fill up the pot with at least 4 cups of water and let it sit for awhile. Strain or carefully pour out 4 cups of the water and set it aside for later. You can now continue to cook the rice as normal.
Don’t forget to press the cook button on your rice cooker.
Enjoy and feel free to send us pictures of your easy Chicken Tinola recipe ready to be served!
Masayang Pagluluto!
Kain na tayo!
Easy Chicken Tinola
Equipment
- 5 quart pot
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken thighs bone-in, skin on
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 3-5 cloves garlic minced
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil or any type of cooking oil, enough to coat the bottom of pan
- 3 thumb size ginger sliced
- 2 whole chayote peeled de-seeded and sliced into wedges
- 2 Tbsp Patis (fish sauce) Don't leave this out!!!
- 1 bunch spinach
- 4 cups water from rinsing rice
- 1 tsp black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Medium/High heat add cooking oil
- Add onions and sauté
- Add black pepper and mix
- Add Chicken thighs skin side down
- Flip the chicken pieces and cook for 5-10 minutes
- Drizzle Patis (fish sauce) over chicken simmer for 5-10 minutes
- Add ginger
- Add garlic
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer
- Pour rice water and bring to a boil
- Add Chayote cover for 10 minutes
- Add 1/2 spinach, cover for 5 minutes
- Stir and add rest of spinach, cover and cook until chicken and chayote are cooked through.
Notes
